Secrets PV Closed

“You see guys, she didn’t know about the spiders.” Arlo offered as Marion attempted to defend herself. His little face scrunched with concern as his eyes scanned the room. The situation was growing tense as more of his housemates showed up. They all seemed quite angry with the girl. Hard to blame them he supposed, but she had faced the trauma just the same as they had. Sure, her actions may seem suspect, but it was scary as hell. 

“She wasn’t the only one who did nothing to help. Plenty just stood by and watched it all happen. And it was that crazy girl that opened the door! Who’s to say she wasn’t the one that set it up.” Arlo raised his voice in an attempt to vindicate her actions. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew bullying when he saw it.

Another boy, unknown to Arlo, would emerge from the shadows. His words and Marion’s reaction sent a small chill down his spine. The girl claimed to have heard something that no one else could. He asked if she was being followed, being watched. Perhaps she was in more danger than she was willing to say. Either way, it was clear that she was becoming more and more frightened.

“You’re scaring her!” Arlo shouted as he made his way to stand between Marion and the others. However, before he could separate them, one of the girls would lunge and snatch a piece of parchment out of her hands. “Hey! What is a matter with you!” His large feet would slap against the stone as he scurried after. “Give that back to her!” Arlo would make a lunge of his own as he attempted to snatch Marion’s letter back from the thief. It would seem Marion had the same intentions.

Action: Attempts to steal the letter back from Bridget.

@Marion Davenport confusion only compounded with each utterance from the boy’s lips. Thomas sensed her reaction was genuine; she was visibly confounded of the idea someone would reveal her location to others. Perhaps these were repercussions for her actions in the common room, a fellow Slytherin could have followed her to the Owlery and placed the note in the common room. Thomas took another step towards Marion with the intention to press further with inquiries. To demand her to carefully consider who would know she was at the Owlery. And more importantly, why they would give her up.

“You’re scaring her!”

He would not yet get the chance, as the shorter fellow intervened his approach. Thomas apprehensively scanned Marion before his eyes traveled to the half goblin. During this brief moment of angst, the brunette girl to his left lunged to steal the parchment from Marion’s hand. Was this coerced attempt wise? Perhaps it was, the note could contain valuable information. Her transparent state of fear and sense of urgency could lead many to the conclusion she was hiding something.

"Give that back, it's mine!"

Thomas rolled his eyes as his peers quarreled over the owl. If only he could have continued pressing Marion for answers, he believed he could have convinced her to talk…even if it was out of fear. The chance of that happening was now slim, and his next choice now critical. Thomas made a lunge of his own, but not for the parchment. With open palms he extended his arms aggressively in attempt to push @Arlo Reynolds , thus allowing @Bridget Collins to retain the owl.

Action: Push Arlo away from Bridget.

@Marion Davenport | @Thora Larkston | @Thomas Lestrange | @Arlo Reynolds

Two more students entered the Owlery, another boy she didn't know and Thora, her best friend. To the latter she offered an absentminded, "Hey, Thora," although it was clear her attention was elsewhere. Not on Thora. Not on the conversation going on. Instead, her focus was solely on Marion and the letter she clutched in her hand.

Marion turning behind her to check for hopefully nonexistent stalkers was just the distraction Bridget needed. The small Slytherin girl didn't waste a second springing forward, jumping at Marion and the letter she had her eye on. Her fingers closed around the parchment, snatching it away from the third year.

So far, she'd been successful, but now came the part she hadn't thought through despite not being one for impulsiveness. Marion was already grabbing at her--there would be no time to read the letter while she was still in the girl's grasp. No time to see if she hadn't just needlessly ruined any trust they'd started to build with Marion.

The weirdly short boy came at her, his long fingers reaching for the letter. He clearly wasn't on her side, but as she watched the other boy came at the smaller one, trying to push him away. Bridget couldn't help but feel as if the whole situation was rather comical as she had somehow ended up the one causing all the commotion. Still, she had no time for humor. She had to get away so she could read the letter. Please have something useful, she urged the piece of paper. Bridget needed it to have something, some clue that would solve the spider mystery. If she was going to suffer from severe arachnophobia and the memories of the excruciating pain, she at least wanted answers.

The brunette would try to twist away from Marion's grasp, hoping some of the strength she'd gained from being a beater would help her now, or at least that luck would be on her side.

Action | Attempting to escape Marion's grasp

Outside the owlery, she could tell that there was commotion inside. Late to the party I see, she thought to herself. She had seen the note on the door to the Common Room and went as quick as possible to the owlery, but apparently others had beat her there. Upon entering, she saw five other Slytherin students surrounding the girl who had initially heard the noise that woke many of the girls that fateful night, most of which she only recognized and and a couple she knew their names from the Quidditch team, but had not yet had the chance to really speak to them.

Unsure how much had already been discussed prior to her arrival, she glanced around at the chaos. One of the girls had grabbed a letter and the girl who started this all was screaming for it back, yet some small gremlin like kid was trying to grab the letter from that girl. What the heck did I miss? She heard the small boy raise his voice above the chaos. “She wasn’t the only one who did nothing to help. Plenty just stood by and watched it all happen. And it was that crazy girl that opened the door! Who’s to say she wasn’t the one that set it up.” He had a very valid point. Just because she heard the noise did not mean she set it up.

She had only just arrived and already she was fed up with everyone's reactions. Why did it always seem that Slytherin students wanted to start fights. Maybe talking wasn't working. Or maybe the right questions were not being asked.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Has anyone here even considered that she has told you all everything she knows about that night? Maybe, just maybe she is just as confused about how the spiders caused the sound and got into the Common Room. And maybe she is just as confused about who sent them to us." She raised her voice at the others near the entrance to the owlery floor. "If you all calmed down and stopped asking the same question we might get somewhere."

Waiting to see if the room would calm dawn, Tyranni sat back, not willing to get brought into the fight going on for the paper. Should the room calm down, the young girl may just ask Marion if anything else had happened in the past. Similar events. Strange happenings. Anything else to calm her down and potentially draw out some answers.

Actions: Yelling at the others to calm down | Addressing everyone

Good cop. Bad cop. Well, a version of it in any case. That being until his true colors emerged and they were green. @Bridget Collins snatched the letter, taking the girl's confusion and fear as an opportunity. The smallest among them, not that she knew his name but he tried to take it back. 

Arlo attempts to take back the letter.
Attempt 5
Evasion 10

But his tiny hands lacked the reach, the girl easily twisted away. Not that he would have held the letter for long had his tiny hands felt the parchment at all. @Thomas LeStrange, briefly the voice of reason pushed back his supposed ally @Arlo Reynolds.



Arlo, while tiny and frail (gets an auto-success), he was quite nimble and agile. He was able to avoid the much larger student. "Seriously!" She snapped as she attempted to grab the thief by the hair if necessary. "Gawd, don't hurt him!" She was referring to Thomas and his reckless endangerment of her tiny defender. Not that she had the time or the ability to check on him or to slap Thomas across his bastard face, she was in a cat fight of her own.

Marion attempts to grab Bridget
Attack 8
Evasion 9

Bridget was able to escape the frantic girls grip with the letter. She cold feel her blood turn cold with panic. Cornered in the owlery by her housemates, the rather unlikely scenario had become reality for her. There was no trust, no faith. Once her defenses lowered they struck at her like vipers. 

She should not have left. She should not have snuck away, took this time for herself against his advice. Stupid. Stupid girl. Why did she think that she could handle this, handle them on her own. She brought a hand to the back of her neck, it ached. 

Another girl would show up late, @Tyranni Whitethorn a first year Seer allegedly. Another voice of 'reason' showing up in this crowd, not that she had not heard reason before from the very same people in front of her. That had given weight to the festering paranoia within her. That warning bell inside her head that was telling her, no screaming at her that everyone was out to get her. That she could not trust them. Anyone. Well, with rare exception, but she betrayed their trust with her foolhardy attempt at independence and privacy. 

"Don't bother," Marion snapped. "Tired of this game, damn snakes!" She shouted as her hands searched for something, anything to throw. An ink well would find her fingers. She would chuck it at Thomas.

Arlo’s large hands would swipe through the air with surprising quickness, but his palms would close around nothing but air. Quick as he may be, Bridget’s height would prove superior. His little legs pressed extended with all his might as he hopped up and down trying to grab at the letter. “Give!..That!..Back!” He called out between each lunge, but try as he might, the little Gremlin would come up empty handed. No matter though. It would seem Marion was willing to take her defense into her own hands as she rushed forward.

It wouldn’t be but a moment later that sudden movement would enter his peripheral vision. Arlo spun on the spot just in time to see Thomas barreling towards him, palms out with the intent to push him aside. “Woah!” He called out as he ducked and scurried out of the way. “What the hell man! Don’t try to push me. You all are bunch of bullies!” He cried out to the group as the Owlery continued to break out in chaos. However, a new presence would be heard. Tyranni would call out for calm. She would align herself with his reasoning that this girl was just as scared and confused as they all were.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” He threw his hands up in frustration as he regained his footing. His cheeks flushed red as his temper was getting the best of him. Arlo’s eyes would come back to the boy that had tried to assault him. What a damn jerk! He was just trying to help this girl and he chose to pick on the smallest in the room. Sure, he was tiny, he wasn’t very strong, but he wasn’t a pushover either. With a hop into the air, Arlo would attempt to bring his weight down on Thomas’ toes. Just about the time an ink well flew high overhead. 

Action: Arlo attempts to stomp on Thomas’ toes.

Another Slytherin girl entered, but her verbal intervention fell mostly on idle ears. She cited Marion’s confusion as the source of her fear. She was onto something, but her presence came too late, and the interaction was already headed south. The half-gremlin proved nimble as Thomas stumbled, grasping nothing more than air. An irrelevant result as the girl still came away with the parchment. He regained his footing, offering a scoff in the direction of @Arlo Reynolds.



“What the hell man! Don’t try to push me. You all are bunch of bullies!”

“Relax, before I punt you off this tower.” The threat left his lips coldly, subjecting himself further to their collective ire. Marion was not much too pleased either, hurling an ink well in his direction. Thomas detected it approaching his head, tilting to try letting it pass. If thrown hard enough perhaps it shattered against the stone wall, though unlikely as Marion did not appear very strong. Or could it have found one of the open windows, harmlessly descending to the grounds below. Or could it have even contacted an incoming owl? Thomas did not have time to turn around and see, as the half-gremlin vaulted himself in the air in to inflict a…stubbed toe? He attempted to hop to the rear and evade the boy’s feet.

Thomas was positioned in front of the thief. His defensive stance implied anyone wanting to retake the parchment would need to go through him. No, he was not on her side. And it was likely no one was on his side. He simply wanted access to the new information. He deemed the moment she decided to snatch up the note, any sense of trust amongst the group of students was eliminated. Marion would no longer confide in them, and their options to extract information dwindled. It had to be through coercion, or deception. “What does it say then?” He offered a quick glance over his shoulder in @Bridget Collins direction, remaining weary to keep those who opposed in his peripherals.

Action: Evade Arlo's flying stomp maneuver.

@Marion Davenport | @Thomas Lestrange

Be it luck or pure evasive skill, Bridget managed to both keep the letter from the tiny boy's snatching fingers and twist away from Marion's grasp. Free, she scrambled away from the girl, not stopping until she reached the far side of the Owlery. If she was going to read the letter, she knew she would need space and the time it would give her to react if Marion came at her again.

Her gaze dropped to the paper, reading the words while glancing up from time to time to make sure no one was coming for her. Most of her attention was on the letter, though, so she missed Marion chucking an ink well at the taller boy. She was vaguely aware of a scuffle going on from the sounds that reached her ears, but mostly she was rereading lines of the letter, making sure she hadn't missed anything. A bubble of elation formed in her stomach and the corners of her mouth twisted into a bit of a smirk. Marion did know something. And now she had proof.

"What does it say, then?" the taller boy would ask, snapping her out of her scheming for how to best get Marion to spill the information clued at by the letter. She cleared her throat, skimming the text one more time to see if there was anything she didn't need to include. Bridget settled on excluding the first and last two sentences; Marion's privacy clearly wasn't at the forefront of her priorities, but she supposed she could at least try to give her some respect.

"Um, it says this. 'Some crazy stuff has been happening and I think I am to blame for it, at least some of it. I think that they know. I can feel them watching me. I have not even been sleeping in my dorm because I'm afraid something bad might happen after I fall asleep. I know you're going to tell me that I am just being dramatic, but I cannot deal with the guilt any more. Everyone here hates me and they don't even know what I did. They might have kept my name out of the papers but I still know. Vlad still knows. Vic still knows. I am sure a lot of other people do, like the Professors. It only takes one of them and then everyone will have a real reason to hate us.'

She paused, giving people time to comprehend what she'd said. During that moment, her hazel eyes locked onto Marion. "Look, Marion. You said you didn't know anything. But here, you say you do know something and that you feel guilty about it. I suggest you share."

While she talked, her hand had sneaked down to the pocket of her robes, fingers curling around the laurel wood of her wand. She didn't want to use it and as such hadn't drawn it yet, but if she needed to... well, Bridget wouldn't hesitate to point it at Marion if she wouldn't share.

Action | Questioning Marion about the letter

To say that things were descending into chaos much too fast would be an understatement. Bridget had lunged for--and obtained--what looked like a piece of parchment that Marion had just been clutching. Some tiny boy--very, very strangely short--was attempting to engage a much bigger student in combat by way of broken toes. And a newcomer, a first year whom Thora vaguely recognized as their new deputy captain, had swept in and began telling everyone to calm down in a manner that couldn't exactly be described as calm. Well, then.

They'd come--well, at least Thora had--in search of answers. In search of something that would ensure relative safety for all of Hogwarts and information that would eventually fit into the puzzle of what the girl now knew was an even bigger problem. Something involving the Potter trial, interrogations, hags… The simple truth was that right now, the more they knew, the better. But despite there only being maybe about seven sneks in the huge owlery and a timespan of mere minutes, a fight had already broken out. Well, a few fights.

Good thing nobody else was here, as Slytherin was not putting up a good front. Of course, the tension and stress that probably plagued everyone involved in the spider fiasco as much as it did Thora surely made all of them jumpy, but was there really reason to practically start a screaming match? They could do better than this.

Typically, Thora wouldn't at all have agreed with her best friend's spontaneously grabbing the third year's letter. It simply wasn't kind, wasn't moral, wasn't the right thing to do. People deserved privacy, and since they were all able to talk in a civilized manner (or so she assumed), such an action wasn't necessary. But these weren't times for patience, and since Bridget had already snatched the letter, they'd might as well keep on with it.

There was no going back now. In her co-captain's defense, Thora had originally agreed that calmly approaching Marion with questions was the right way to go. She'd been the one to try and earn even a bit of her dormmate's trust so that something could be reaped from this, but one had to keep up with the times. Things changed quickly. And to properly keep up, you just had to change your strategy, go along with the flow. It wasn’t like they could just hand Marion her letter back, turn the clock back, and redo this thing. It wasn't like they could all just waltz out of there, acting like they hadn't robbed someone of their rightful property without a reasonable conversation.

This was just all a web. A web of confusion. A web of distrust. It was evident that nobody really trusted the others, and although this certainly wouldn't help them, it wasn't the only problem. Last time they had run into serious trouble, which was the spider massacre, they'd had their prefects. Their former prefects. Even their Head of House had turned up after everything was over. But now, they were just a bunch of kids with a twisted view. The problem was, nobody would take charge, Thora included.

Truth be told, she hated assuming the position of authority. It didn't fit well with the rest of her personality, as she'd gotten past a reasonable twelve years with her soft-spoken nature and simply sticking to the rules she was given. But in times like these, there was an urge. A buzzing in her stomach that seemed to rise and make it sink at the same time. Something that warned her that if nobody of reasonable state was willing to step up, everything would just get worse and worse. And so, Thora opened her mouth and spoke.

"Alright, guys, it would be ideal if we could stop fighting over there." It took every ounce of her will not to simply scream at everyone to stop moving, stop fighting, stop screaming. She glanced towards the two boys who'd started the typical dance of attack and retreat. Hopefully, they would listen to her, but if not, well, boys would be boys. And then? Off she went again, to do the hand-on-shoulder thing. Just like that night. Gripping Marion's shoulder again with a thin hand, Thora would attempt to stop any motion that she might make. They'd gotten the letter, and while this was, again, not the second year's favoured way of doing things, everything, unfortunately, wasn't up to her.

"I'm sorry, but… but we have to do this," Thora opted for a less direct way of doing things. No need to accuse her needlessly. But now that they'd already invaded Marion's privacy, and knew things they probably shouldn't, it wasn't like there was an available detour. "We don't-- Well, I don't want to take anything of yours, but we need information. I wouldn't have come directly to you for interrogation, but I've noticed that you've been missing from the dorm for a bit, and it seems like you know what we ne-- at least, you know what we're talking about. So, tell us what you know. Please. It's for everyone's good."

Every word sounded strange, like one from the mouth of a leader. Thora was no leader. No, she was a pathetic coward. But, as a second year among a bunch of senseless chaos, something had to be done. Fine.

Action » Prevent Marion from moving [if she attempts to]

A midget's height might have been a challenge for poor Arlo, the small hero every story needed. Thomas, on the other hand, was an antagonist in the making little did the students here realize. It was a reckless attempt to knock the boy back, there was no glass over the windows and it was a long... long... drop to the ground. 

However, Thomas was just mean, he lacked the capacity to do actual harm. Arlo, both agile as well as incredibly lucky would avoid the brute. 

“What the hell man! Don’t try to push me. You all are bunch of bullies!” 

The hobbit cried. 

“Relax, before I punt you off this tower.”

The boy threatened. Marion somewhat believed the boy, he seemed aggressively unhinged and itching for an opportunity... Arlo did not seem like a fighter, but he had massive feet and a small, nimble body. He would attempt to stomp on LeStrange's foot.

Attempt to stomp on Thomas
Attack: 7 (+7 accuracy)
Evasion: 8 (+7 accuracy)

While close, the young man was surprisingly agile himself as he jumped back. He, well they, had gotten what they wanted -- Bridget had wrestled the letter away from Marion. He was right, any progress they had made in getting Marion to trust them, to want to divulge anything had been lost by that breech. 

"What does it say then?”

Thomas asked Bridget. Marion chucked an inkwell at the awful boy, but missed. "Stop!" She seemed to beg. The girl was paying her no heed as she skimmed the letter and another girl made her way to the only entrance and exit. Tyranni, another Slytherin girl would call out for calm. Contend that Marion was just as scared and confused as they all were.


“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!”


The exasperated youth exclaimed, but this was out of his over-sized hands. 

"Alright, guys, it would be ideal if we could stop fighting over there."

Thora demanded that the fighting cease, but like Arlo, she had no power here. not that anyone actually has power, not even the Prefects. Power is something that is not necessarily earned but it is something that is recognized. Nobody was recognizing anyone's power here - not Thora's demands, not Tyranni's pleas for reason, Arlo's desperate attempt to calm the rising aggression. The damage had already been done. Thomas' threat. Arlo's attempt to strike back. Marion's loss of trust.



Bridget had read the letter, at least most of it. 

"Um, it says this. 'Some crazy stuff has been happening and I think I am to blame for it, at least some of it. I think that they know. I can feel them watching me. I have not even been sleeping in my dorm because I'm afraid something bad might happen after I fall asleep. I know you're going to tell me that I am just being dramatic, but I cannot deal with the guilt any more. Everyone here hates me and they don't even know what I did. They might have kept my name out of the papers but I still know. Vlad still knows. Vic still knows. I am sure a lot of other people do, like the Professors. It only takes one of them and then everyone will have a real reason to hate us.'

She could feel a heat in her cheeks but her cheeks were not red, in fact the color had drained from her face. She needed to run. She needed to get away from them. she eyed the door and wondered if she could get past them. Her instincts screamed at her to run. To get out of there. That she should have done so sooner. That she should never have been here in the first place. 

She would try to run. it was all she could do. She could not take on the sum of them, she was not even sure that she could take on one of them. She was not a fighter. She was not particularly strong and right now she was terrified.

"Look, Marion. You said you didn't know anything. But here, you say you do know something and that you feel guilty about it. I suggest you share."

"I don't know anything!" She lied, it was a stubborn statement. the sort of statement that you make when you're cornered and have no idea what you are supposed to say because she would not willingly give them the information that they wanted. If they were mad at her now, she was probably dead if she shared what that note was referring to.

Thora attempts to grab onto Marion's shoulder
Attack: 18
Evasion: 11

Marion did not want to be touched, she attempted to back away from the second year as she gripped the girl's shoulder. Space was limited, the straw and dropping -covered floor caused her feet to slide under her, it was hard to get traction. 

"Get away!"

Marion shouted, it sounded like someone had drawn a wand at her. Well, in reality it was not far from that. She tried to pull herself free.

Contested Strength Check
Marion 7
Thora 13

It was a feeble attempt.

She let out a cry of frustration as the hand clasped her icy shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, but… but we have to do this,"

There was no use trying to claim remorse. If she was sorry for something she was about to do, she would not have done it. It was just a platitude. Something people say because they don't want to be blamed. Because they don't want to be seen as the bad guy.

"We don't-- Well, I don't want to take anything of yours, but we need information. I wouldn't have come directly to you for interrogation, but I've noticed that you've been missing from the dorm for a bit, and it seems like you know what we ne-- at least, you know what we're talking about. So, tell us what you know. Please. It's for everyone's good."

It would seem that Bridget's unspoken bluff would be tested. "I don't know!" She snapped. "I am trying to get away from all of you. You're all crazy!" Probably not a good idea to insult the group of people that had her surrounded. But she made a point, the terror and the reason she was in hiding was validated by their actions. "I did not know that you were going to be attacked by anything! I did not know that you would find me here! I didn't know that you could not hear the noises I heard until you said something! And finally, I did not open the door like a crazy person!" She snapped, but unbeknownst to her she had shared something incredibly slight that they probably would not even notice. That is if she was telling the truth. If it was not some sort of diabolical trap, but she did not seem particularly dangerous or powerful. 

Thora would notice something. Something wrong with their suspect. With their subject. Her long blonde hair was down, it covered the nape of her neck mostly but there was something dark there.