MURDOKU PV The missing Chocolate Frogs

Today, Tala had made the decision to talk to people.

She didn't usually like interacting much with others, as they kind of made her nervous. Recently though, she had decided that she would finally come out of her shell, and find who she was when she wasn't hiding behind her parents.
What better place to do that than the infirmary, where there are hurt people who she can be kind to and make their day better?

She always likes to eat pumpkin pasties whenever she gets a cold, so she brought a little container of some pasties her mother recently mailed, to give the ill students. It was something small really, but she was confident that it was a step in the right way. She was determined to do this. She can do this. Putting a smile on people's faces and conquering her social anxiety, what better way to spend an evening?

When she finally made it to the big wooden doors of the infirmary, she stopped to compose herself. Taking a deep breath, she tucked some stray strands of wavy hair behind her ears, and was about to open the door when she heard loud voices coming from the inside. With furrowed brows, she pushed the doors.

Only to be greeted with the harsh fluorescent lights and the smell of disinfectant that seemed to accompany all medical facilities. When her eyes got accustomed to the brighter light, she spotted a group of five students - the source of the loud voices, she assumed - and a boy that looked about her age.

To no one in particular, she asked, "Um, excuse me." No one seemed to hear her. They were too occupied with the blond girl, who was about to strangle a lanky, red headed Griffindor boy - ha. "Is Nurse McLoughlin here?"

@Richard de Montmorency

When a new student entered the infirmary, the entire group froze, thinking it was the nurse returning from her urgent mission. This seemed to calm the blonde, though she couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh at the redhead. Everyone recovered their breath. The newcomer was clearly a Hufflepuff. Richard had seen her during a few classes, but he had no idea what her name was… Wasabi? Wibani? How could she not be in class anyway? Were the Hufflepuffs in the study hall? Judging that it didn't warrant an hour of reflection, he preferred to turn his attention back to the current situation.

"Um, excuse me…Is Nurse McLoughlin here?" asked the newcomer, looking intrigued.

The lanky Gryffindor turned to her, putting his hands on his hips, still angry “No. She was just called to get a 3rd Year student whose Transfiguration exploded on his face. She’ll be back soon though…Until then, we have a situation to figure out.”

Richard looked at him suspiciously. That boy liked to talk and people who talked too much always ticked his alarm bells. That lanky boy looked quite inconspicuous… but as they say, clothes do not make the wizard. The Slytherin clicked his tongue, tilting his head while slightly frowning: “Alright then, let’s start with the beginning… where were you when it happened ?” As his question hung there, flotting in the air, Richard observed the body language of the boy who now turned to him, lifting his chin up.

A situation to figure out? The beginning? Something wasn't right here. In a rare show of confidence, Tala burst, "I know it's probably none of my business, but can somebody please tell me what's going on?" Suddenly remembering why she was in the hospital wing in the first place, she raised the container full of pumpkin pasties. "I can offer some sweets in exchange?" She added uncertainly.

The blond girl was about to respond - nothing nice by the look on her face - but before she could say anything, an older girl, who had a big bow on top of her head, cut in and took the container. "Thank you, so much!" As she offered some to each of them, Tala stared at her face, trying to remember if she had perhaps met her before, but with no luck. She looked to be about 16 or 17, so it would make sense that she hadn't really interacted with her before now, not to mention that she was a Ravenclaw, so she wouldn't have seen her in the common room either.

When the Ravenclaw offered some to the blond, she snapped, "Do you really think this is the time to be eating? We need to find out who stole those blasted chocolate frogs before the nurse gets here!" Glaring at the redhead she continued "and no, it wasn't me. I don't want to hear one more word come out of your your mouth, Colin."
The Ravenclaw girl shrugged as if to say, 'your loss', and gave the half empty container back to Tala.

Still, nobody bothered to explain, but Tala managed to get the gist of what was happening. What had she gotten in the middle of ? She started regretting her ever asking to get out of charms early. (She had completed the work for today early, and asked the professor for permission to come and give out some baked goods. Being a top student had it's benefits).

A bit embarrassed - because even though the blond didn't have the sunniest or nicest disposition, she was kind of right - Tala suddenly seemed to find her shoelaces very interesting. And that's when she noticed the swollen ankle of the Slytherin boy. It was almost the size of an orange, and it did not look good. "Oh my god, are you okay?" She burst out.

@ Richard de Montmorency

Colin's remark went right over his head. What he'd just said was surely an attempt at throwing an insult, but for Richard, there was a grain of truth in it, and it explained, in his eyes, why his house was renowned for its preservation skills. In any case, saying he was alone wasn't really getting them anywhere. Letting out a perplexed "Mmh...", the Slytherin turned his gaze toward Wasabi, who was offering some pumpkin pasties.

The group began to disperse: some paced back and forth, another went to sit on the last available chair, while a boy excused himself, explaining that he urgently needed to use the restroom. When the Ravenclaw reached Richard, after being sharply rebuffed by the blonde, the Slytherin took the initiative and grabbed one of the cakes himself. He bit into it and then unconsciously nodded: it was a bit crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Perhaps he should pass by the Hufflepuff table more often to ask for more snacks.

"Oh my god, are you okay?", exclaimed Wasimy, now at his side.

Richard swallowed, cleared the last bits of cake from the corners of his mouth, then noticed his classmate whose eyes were fixed on his leg. The Green boy followed her gaze and grimaced. His ankle was horribly swollen. He didn't dare move it.

“Fantastic, as you can see... Ready to tap dance at dinner,” he replied with a slight smirk, then, after a deep sigh, continued, “Apparently, one of them stole and hid some Chocolate Frogs. We’re trying to find out who before the nurse arrives. By the way...” he finally said, glancing at the Ravenclaw with the big bow, “have you seen anything ?”

-

Tala winced slightly at the Slytherin boy's sarcastic comment about tap dancing. He was trying to act all stubborn, but it was clear from the shallow breaths he took from time to time that he was in pain. She just hoped he'd get better soon. Tala was never good with sarcasm, it always made her feel kind of stupid. Still, she was glad everyone - except for that blond, but, oh well - seemed to enjoy her mother's sweets.

She looked back at Alicia as she explained her whereabouts. When she mentioned the bookshelf, Tala's eyes went to it. She could see the messy shelf through the open door of the storeroom.
It seemed like a good place to hide something if you were in a hurry... But so were a lot of other places as well.

That reminded her, did they even try searching for the missing chocolate frogs? And whose were they? She wanted to ask, but she didn't get the chance to before everybody went their own way. She remained standing next to the fellow first year she briefly recognized from her classes as Richard.

She didn't really know much people here, but he stuck with her, not just because he had a unique sounding surname- though that definitely helped, but because of the way he held himself. It was a the kind of confidence and stubbornness, her shy, people-pleasing self always dreamed of. She turned to him, and in a disastrous attempt to be friendly, she did the first thing that came to mind. "Do you want another pumpkin pastie?" Offering the container to him.
Those freaking pasties

@ Richard de Montmorency

So sorry for taking this long to respond . I'll do my best to respond faster next time.

Richard nodded when his Hufflepuff classmate offered him other Pumpkin Pasties. “Thanks, I’d love the recipe sometime,” he said, wolfing down the pastry in two bites. He and she looked perfectly out of place in this group of students eye-siding each other so openly. For a moment, Richard’s eyes twinkled, as he felt like being a spectator of some absurd play. All this fuss over Chocolate Frogs… he will make sure their detective efforts won’t go to waste, that was for sure !

The last of the boys present, who until then hadn't uttered a word, glanced occasionally at the toilets door. He must surely be keeping an eye on the one who had excused himself to go to the restroom earlier. It was true that Richard had noticed his ashen face and red eyes. When the boy -who was a Hufflepuff- emerged from the restroom, now sporting a greenish complexion, the silent boy followed him, placing the sick boy's arm around his shoulder to guide him toward what Richard assumed was the sleeping area. Before Richard or the Hufflepuff girl could even say a word, the worried boy turned to look at them to tell them in a very confident voice :

Note : one suspect has been taken out. Therefore, there are five to consider. The next post will contain the last clue.
Reminder : the first ones to owl me will have their names mentioned on the last post of this thread

"Really?" Tala looked at Richard, a bit surprised."Well, I'm not much of a cook myself, but I can ask my mother to owl me the recipe if you want." She added hurriedly with a small smile.

As the boy helped his sick friend to the sleeping area, Tala noticed a brunette pacing the room, her head down and wearing a worried expression. "Um, excuse me. Did you lose something?" The girl looked at Tala, running her fingers through her short hair and messing it up. "What? Oh, yeah. My earring. I just don't seem to find it anywhere!" She exclaimed with a note of despair, and continued her search.

When she excused herself from charms class, Tala had been expecting to simply give out her mother's sweets, maybe even gain a friendly face or two with whom she could exchange greetings, and maybe, possibly become friends in the future. What she hadn't expected was to land herself in the middle of an investigation of sorts.

Looking at her classmate, Tala said, "I'm going to help her, and I'll try to figure out her alibi while I'm at it. You found out everyone else's - which was amazing by the way, and very - " she cut herself off. Not the rambling. she tended to do that when she got excited, but this was so not the time or place. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Anyways, I - I'll go help." And she hurried towards the brunette.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, Tala turned towards the girl, "How long have you been looking for anyway? Is that what you were doing when the chocolate frogs disappeared?"

𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮

I was looking for my earring ! I can't find it in this tacky, horrible carpet. My mother will be so mad if I don't find it !"

@ Richard de Montmorency

The Infirmary seemed to have regained a certain calm, now that everyone had spoken. Colin paced back and forth by the door, Alicia sat down in the only free chair, playing distractedly with her hair, and Bill went back to lie down in bed, watched over by his taciturn friend Edward. Diana, for her part, was no longer paying any attention to the Gryffindor with whom she had argued so bitterly. Only Richard and the Hufflepuff remained, the latter seriously and intently mulling over all the information they had received. The thread of the story was beginning to become clearer for the Slytherin. He glanced at the Hufflepuff, his head slightly tilted, as if perplexed:

“What’s your name, by the way? Wasabi? Wilamby? I can’t remember and it’s annoying me.”

Richard barely had time to ask the question, a last piece of cake in his hand, before the infirmary door was completely blocked by the arrival of a young girl, visibly agitated. She wore large glasses that obscured her face, two braids pulled back, and cheeks flushed from her recent check ups across the school.




A heavy silence fell as the Gryffindor inquired whether her precious frogs had been found. Richard gave his budding fellow investigator an insistent look, but the Hufflepuff seemed to prefer remaining silent. In the Slytherin's mind, countless ideas jostled and collided. He felt his muscles relax and his eyes twinkle with mischief when, at last, the solution to this story seemed clear and… perfect for a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Of course we know where they are…” he began to say, his voice slow and measured. He shifted in his chair for a moment, then, after turning around, grasped the back of the chair with his right hand and tried to stand up, pushing off with his good leg. He held out his arm to the Ravenclaw, Alicia, waving his fingertips, urging her to join him immediately. “You… come help me, we’re going to go get those frogs…”

The Ravenclaw girl raised her eyebrows in surprise, her shoulders tensing before relaxing. She forced a smile: “Oh… yes, wait, I’ll help you… watch your leg.” Richard’s piercing eyes never left the brunette’s as she quickly slipped an arm behind his back, placing the Slytherin’s left arm against the back of her neck.

“Storeroom…” Richard indicated nonchalantly. He watched the brunette swallow before nodding. They both headed, somewhat awkwardly, towards the Storeroom. Once inside, Richard pulled away from the Ravenclaw and closed the door behind him. He turned to face her, a calculating glint in his eye.

“This is your only chance to get out of this, you know…” Richard whispered, smiling. “Because I know Wizambi knows it’s you too…” The Ravenclaw girl tried to feign offense at first, but quickly closed her mouth. Raising her voice would immediately expose her. The brunette with her cheeks unusually pale, wiped her hands on her dress before sighing and going to retrieve a small leather bag from behind a crate. “Don’t say anything… please…Nurse McLoughlin…She would be so angry with me if she knew and…”

Richard raised a hand. “You can trust me…” he replied, maintaining his ever-present smile. “But… who knows… maybe we’ll run into each other again outside of class. Who knows if I’ll need help too…” Alicia gave him a puzzled look before it turned suspicious. She handed him the bag.

With a satisfied smile, Richard weighed it in his hand and then extended his left arm once more towards the Ravenclaw. They left the small room to rejoin the others. The Gryffindor, Viviane, immediately turned her attention to her bag, which she had thought she had lost.

“Oh my bag! You found it! Where was it?!” she asked eagerly, abruptly grabbing her belongings.

“Alicia and I found it in the Storeroom. It must have been put away by mistake…” Richard replied with amusement. The Gryffindor thanked them warmly, which made the Ravenclaw stammer. The other students quickly resumed their conversations, some demanding apologies for the false accusations, others completely indifferent to the matter now that it was solved. After yet another compliment from Vivian, Richard lightly placed his hand on the shoulder of the girl who was about to leave the room. “Say… since we found your frogs… would you mind if I keep one as a souvenir?” he asked innocently. Grateful, Vivian nodded quickly, gave him a Chocolate Frog, waved goodbye with a broad smile, and left the room.

Richard and the Ravenclaw girl stood there for a few seconds before the Slytherin boy slipped away from the girl's arm, giving her a wink as he did so. He hopped to the chair that had supported him from the start and slumped down. He opened the card, snatched the frog with a swift movement before eating it, and noticed the portrait staring back at him: "Xavier Rastrick... Ugh, already got three of these..." he muttered, annoyed.

-

END