Rumours Closed

Hello, Meredith. So, who did you hear the rumour from?
Meredith jumped when she heard Wyatt ask her that with out a warning and she said, " Well first of all hi Wyatt, and I heard it from a friend who heard it from a second year who heard it from a Ravenclaw third year who must of heard it from the person who started these rumours about you guys. But don't go looking for them right now in the middle of the morning because they aren't all at the great hall yet and I am really tired right now."
Meredith was hoping that she had a good picture of how this would go,
First they would go through the whole Great Hall and look for someone who would look like a good person who would start a bunch of rumours about them. But if not she might need to improvise with a rumour or two about Meredith herself, she hoping that it might not need that because then if they found out it was her then she would have a lot of talking to do about why she did it or they might hex her.
" We should wait until they are all in there and then I could try to point them out if that would help with the cause."
@Wyatt Starkey @Nell Zoldak

Autumn, like everybody else, had heard of the rumours.

Wyatt Starkey, first year, Slytherin, the so-called You-Know-Who worshipper. Nell Zodak, first year, Ravenclaw, troublemaker, curfew broken, sneaking around with a boy. Meredith Ready, first year, Slytherin, the girl she had found had started the rumours about the two after some asking around and threatening. She already knew the rumours to be nothing more than lies.

Autumn had followed Starkey and Zodak the day before, and continued to today. Yes, it may have been slightly weird of her, but, in her defence, she enjoyed seeing them working with the guilty party to find the guilty party. It was amusing, and she had missed the amusement of some basic drama. She did not especially enjoy drama, but it was interesting. She certainly was not planning on telling either the true person at fault. Besides, they would not believe her. Like the rest of the crowd, she pretended to be afraid of Wyatt and suspicious of Nell, although nothing could be further from the truth.

She adjusted her glasses and stared down to the words of the book she had just now remembered to be holding. Maybe it would be fun to mess around with them, with, you know, ominous, anonymous owl messages and more rumours and all of that fun stuff.

No. That is a horrible thing to do to anyone. We are not-

Shut up morals.

Still, she decided not to further the icky situation and instead decided that she would simply approach Wyatt, maybe give him some foreshadowing which he would only realise once he had already figured out the culprit. Maybe she could befriend one or two of the three along the way. They seemed like interesting acquaintances and strategically good people to have at your side. She shrugged and walked towards Wyatt and Meredith. Meredith was leaving in a hasty manner, very obviously hiding something. Anyone with simple analytical understanding would be able to see it. Then again, she was biased due to the fact that she already knew Meredith to be the person to be the liar.

@Wyatt Starkey @Nell Zoldak @Meredith Ready

Okay. You don’t need a Ravenclaw to point out what Meredith just did was a little sketchy. She was beginning to talk about a million other students who’d “given her the rumour.” How would anyone know who told the person who told the person who told the person who told them? After that, the Snake hastily walked away, and Wyatt even thought he saw her trip on nothing a few steps down the corridor. He huffed, and realized he was so angry that he totally missed that the perpetrator was in front of him the entire time.

A short, black-haired girl walked past, glancing at Wyatt then looking ahead. He felt he’d seen her before, she looked very familiar, but Wyatt could’ve sworn they’d never met. He wondered, who is she, but when he realized he had to get to Charms, he abandoned the thought and started running. Sure Charms was for Ravenclaws, but it was his favorite class. Foolish wand-waving is incredibly fun. He knew he really had to start getting good with Defense Against the Dark Arts, for about a million reasons, but it was only his first year. They were only teaching basics anyway.

In class, all he could think about was the rumour. How could he not? All the kids were staring at him, the whole time. It didn’t help that today’s class was a joint one with the Slytherins and the Gryffindors (cue yay). As everyone was practicing Wingardium Leviosa, the bloody Gryffindors were trying to make his hair float in a million directions. When he tried to cover his hair with his hands, they saw the opportunity to make those float too. Damn, were those Gryffindors good at making fun of people. Even a few Slytherins could learn from them.

He decided that he was done, even though he hadn’t learned anything. He excused himself to the restroom and left. He decided he was just going to learn the Levitation Spell during his detention for skipping class. Maybe he could make Nell’s hair float around, but that was an idea for another time. He was going to hide out in the bathroom, but he saw the familiar girl from earlier standing in the corridor.

“Hey." Wyatt didn't see a point in shouting. The halls were very echoey when they were empty. “Are you following me?”

_{@Autumn Ivy @Nell Zoldak @Meredith Ready}

interacting/mentioning : @Wyatt Starkey,@Nell Zoldak,and @Autumn Ivy

Lucille had been strolling the Hogwarts corridors searching for her next class when she heard three other students having quite the argument about rumors. Letting her curiosity getting the best of her she decided to wait to see what would happen.Of course, it wouldn't take the smartest Ravenclaw to realize she was being a bit nosy,but to Lucille she was trying to keep telling herself it was just curiosity.Suddenly, a Slytherin student turned around abruptly and asked if someone was following him.Yes,Lucille was scared,and yes was Lucille prepared to answer the boy,but then,the young witch realized this Slytherin boy was actually someone she knew,or more exactly someone she thought she knew..

This Slytherin boy was the same Wyatt from the Hogwarts Express ride to be exact."Wyatt is pretty nice.."Lucille thought."He even likes The Beatles..Why would anyone have a rumor about him?"She asked herself confused.Trying her best not to look suspicious Lucille looked around once more to notice a Hufflepuff student walking towards Wyatt,most likely who Wyatt had thought was following him,along with noticing another Ravenclaw who was talking to Wyatt earlier.Lucille tried her best to remember the Ravenclaw's name.Where had she seen that girl before? The library?Maybe just the common room?Ah yes! Now Lucille remembered,the other Ravenclaw's name was Nell! Nell...something."I'll figure out her last name later.."The young witch thought to herself silently.When thinking back to what she heard earlier,it appeared that Nell,Wyatt,and some other mysterious Slytherin girl,had been arguing about some odd rumors.The Slytherin girl had left hastily,but of course,whatever those rumors were about,Lucille had no clue.

Interacting with @Wyatt Starkey

Autumn had not meant to be following Wyatt. It had simply been that she had forgotten her glasses and had not been able to read her textbook, something she needed to be able to do to be able to participate in History of Magic class. The teacher had let her off to go to her dorm room to collect them. Then she had seen Wyatt, and her curiousity had gotten the better of her, and now she was past her dorm, and following Wyatt Starkey.

"Hey", he spoke, "Are you following me?"

Autumn cursed under her breath and turned to him with an innocent look in her eyes He sounded calm. Autumn had a chance to explain herself.

"Hey," she spoke, without her usual "salutations", "No, I need to go to the bathrooms. I'm Raven Hupp, it's very nice to meet you."

She was lying through her teeth, and forcing on her Uzbek accent, the one she had grown out of. She smiled sweetly at him, forcing herself to not scoff.

"And who might you be, sweetie?"

She gagged a little at her own words, but if she acted like a stereotypical Hufflepuff, she could maybe get out of the situation. Not that most actual Hufflepuffs acted like this. She made sure she didn't sound like an oblivious idiot, though.

"Oh, you're Wyatt Starkey, aren't you? The one with the rumours about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Voldemort, she thought, That's his name. Still, even without the role she was playing, she would not have said his name to Starkey. The word seemed to trigger him. She was a good liar, and fairly confident in her acting abilities, and did not expect Wyatt to be uncomfortable or skeptical. She waited for his response.

@Lucille Williams @Meredith Ready @Nell Zoldak

"Hey, no, I need to go to the bathrooms. I'm Raven Hupp, it's very nice to meet you."

“Right.” Oh, but Wyatt was skeptical. He suspected the Meredith girl was lying, what’s stopping “Raven” from lying as well? Why would anyone want to talk to or help a worshipper of the Dark Lord unless they know something, or they’re not really who they say they are. Wyatt dipped back into his skeptical nature. Trust no-one, he told himself. No-one.

The girl spoke with an accent, not one he’d heard before, but then again, she wasn’t someone he’d met before. That was the girl he’d thought was familiar, though they’d never met.

She smiled sweetly, and Wyatt couldn’t bite back a tight frown. After a second of allowing it, he fixed his face to its resting expressionless state.

"And who might you be, sweetie?"

Strike 2. It seemed like everyone knew who Wyatt was now since the rumour broke out. Wyatt scoffed at sweetie. Before he could answer and leave, the girl spoke up for the third time.

"Oh, you're Wyatt Starkey, aren't you? The one with the rumours about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Oh, so she knew her mistake. Once again, he was grateful that the girl didn’t say his name. Wyatt thought himself pathetic for fearing a dead man, but it was the stories that haunted him. He knew he may be overreacting, but how could he trust anyone right now? He took a step towards the girl.

“I’d be willing to bet the few galleons I have that you aren’t really Raven Hupp,” he said. “I’ve seen you following me. Lying about going to the lavatory, strike one. Strike two, asking me who I am? I’m not very self-absorbed, so it pains me to say this, but I don’t think there is a single student in this school who hasn’t heard my rumour by now, especially the first years, and you don’t look older or taller than 10.” He paused to take a breath. “Strike three, sweetie? Where are you from, Kansas? What Hufflepuff, or child in general talks like that?”

He really hoped he was right. He was either right, or he just displayed how much overthinking Wyatt Starkey could put into five sentences.

_{@Autumn Ivy @Lucille Williams @Nell Zoldak}

"Raven" listened to the boy's small speech, looking patient on the outside, screaming internally.
She picked out the lies she would use and waited for him to finish. She then spoke, keeping on her Uzbek accent and
"3 strikes? I guess I'm out, hun. I, in fact, am going into the lavatories, and you have no way of saying otherwise. If you do need an elaboration, then, alright, I was at Herbology class, and it has been 6 hours, and I am an 11 year old female, so I need to change my pad. I did not feel the need to explain that, because it is a period, something a large quantity of males shame and are disgusted by. "

Hun. She hated this role she was playing. Her period had finished a week and a half ago, but the concept of periods would usually be enough to make people uncomfortable and shut them up. She wondered what was so disgusting about something which happened to roughly half of all human beings.

"As for strike two, I have heard your rumour, and I do know who I am. It is simply that I know your name, and some features. The Gryffindors think you have greasy hair, by the way. And, yes, I have seen you around before, but I never connected the face and the name until just about now.

Strike 3, sweetheart, is that I use nicknames? It is a habit, and I would rather you did not compare me to someone from Kansas. I was born in London, grew up there, and am half British and half Uzbek."

Autumn mentally prepared herself for the next thing she wished to say to Wyatt, having had realised that Wyatt was unsure that she was lying, and was probably insecure about the reliability of his thinking.

"I think you're just overthinking this."

She did her best to sound relaxed, chirpy, persuasive, casual and slightly dismissive, all at once. A perfected fake smile sat on her face. She ignored the fact that what she was doing was called gaslighting and it was extremely toxic and ethically incorrect.

@Meredith Ready @Nell Zoldak @Wyatt Starkey @Lucille Williams

"3 strikes? I guess I'm out, hun. I, in fact, am going into the lavatories, and you have no way of saying otherwise. If you do need an elaboration, then, alright, I was at Herbology class, and it has been 6 hours, and I am an 11-year-old female, so I need to change my pad. I did not feel the need to explain that, because it is a period, something a large quantity of males shame and are disgusted by."

Wyatt sighed. Not because he was grossed out. Stuff like that never disgusted him, he wondered what was so disgusting about something which happened to roughly half of all human beings. He sighed because she played the period card, and you can’t accuse someone of playing certain cards. What was he going to do, ask for proof?

"As for strike two, I have heard your rumour, and I do know who I am. It is simply that I know your name, and some features. The Gryffindors think you have greasy hair, by the way. And, yes, I have seen you around before, but I never connected the face and the name until just about now.”

He rolled his eyes at “greasy hair.” He never knew why, but his hair was just always slightly greasy for some reason. He’d shower, and 10 minutes later, his hair would be greasy again. This was something, of course, that the Gryffindors used against him often.

“Strike 3, sweetheart, is that I use nicknames? It is a habit, and I would rather you did not compare me to someone from Kansas. I was born in London, grew up there, and am half British and half Uzbek."

“Sweetheart” made him a lot more uncomfortable than the period comment.

"I think you're just overthinking this."

Wyatt held back a sigh. She did have pretty good reasons for why she was out there, but Wyatt still felt crazy. He didn’t know who to trust, but it this girl was lying, she was pretty damn good at doing it. She was wearing Hufflepuff robes too, and though Wyatt didn’t like stereotypes, he assumed Hufflepuff would be the last house to lie profusely.

“I apologize,” he grit out. “Maybe I am just… overthinking this.”
With that, he turned and walked to the boy's lavatory where he would hideout until lunchtime.

_{@Autumn Ivy @Lucille Williams @Nell Zoldak @Meredith Ready}

Nell had been standing behind a wall in the corridor. She listened in on the whole conversation, not necessarily on purpose. She had just happened to be walking by and she had heard the conversation. It was quite hilarious, to be honest. Before he even did, Nell knew Wyatt would scoff and most of the comments the girl made.

When the conversation was over, Nell came out of her hiding place and walked passed the two. She recognized Wyatt for sure, but not the girl. All she could make out was that she was a Hufflepuff. When she got the class she pondered amongst the girl's face for a bit. She then recognized her from one of her classes.

That girl was definitely not talking how she normally was. And, yes, she had said she uses nicknames, but how does Raven Hupp count as a nickname for . . . What was her real name? Nell thought for a moment and then it came to her and she finished her thought. Raven Hupp does not count as a nickname for Autumn Ivy. Is does not at all, well at least in Nell's point of view.

When class ended Nell headed to lunch where she encountered Wyatt. It then came to her. Nell hadn't seen Wyatt at all since his and Autumn 'Raven Hupp' Ivy's conversation. She walked up to him and asked him the questions she needed.

"Where have you been half of the day?" she asked quickly. Before he could answer, Nell gave him some information."And that girl's name, the one you were talking to earlier, I mean, her real name is Autumn Ivy," she told him. He didn't have a chance to answer Nell's first question as she walked away to sit at the table.

_{This starts in the Great Hall}

"Where have you been half of the day?" she asked quickly. Wyatt was annoyed when she started talking again before he could answer. Of course, he wouldn’t tell her that he’d been hiding from the world like a loser in the Abandoned Toilets for half the day, but he always had an insulting witty comeback for everything and it was a shame he couldn’t say it before her next statement.

"And that girl's name, the one you were talking to earlier, I mean, her real name is Autumn Ivy.” Then, in true Nell Zoldak style, she left before he could say anything else. Sure Wyatt still had his doubts about “Raven Hupp,” so getting this clarification was great, but how did Nell know about this girl who was seemingly a first-year Hufflepuff (unless she stole the robes and lied about her age). Wyatt knew that Nell had been listening, he saw her walk past after the interaction between himself and “Raven,” but why would she want to help Wyatt after she blew him off earlier, and again, how did she know that this girl was lying about her name?

He looked around the Great Hall, trying to find Autumn “Raven” Ivy. When he saw all the eyes staring back at him, he realized why he was so paranoid during his meeting with “Raven.” The rumour. The bloody rumour.

“I’m not scouting for people to murder,” he clarified to the eyes. “Mind your bloody business!” When all he got was twice the amount of stares he began with, he turned and stormed out of the Great Hall, completely forgetting about “Raven.”

_{This ends in the corridor.
@Nell Zoldak @Autumn Ivy @Lucille Williams @Meredith Ready}