Goodbye to Goodlow PV Reopened

Before she'd attended Hogwarts for the first time, Ami had only had one true friend, and that was Thomas. She had kept away from other students, for the most part, but all of that changed when she came to Hogwarts. The extrovert hidden under the facade of an introvert came exploding out of her the second she stepped foot into the castle, and she started meeting new people left and right. But her first real friend group was something that she'd never forget. After all, who could possibly forget nearly having a heart attack on the Astronomy tower, only to meet your best friends right then and there? It was an unforgettable experience; and one that she was beyond thankful to have.

By all means, Kyden should've been a Hufflepuff along with the two redheaded girls he had befriended. Kind, loyal, and selfless, Ami figured that Kyden was more of a Hufflepuff than she was. He might've gotten the three of them into a lot of precarious situations, but Ami had grown so much from all of them. She had learned to socialize, helped Amadea with her fear of Flying (although that was kind of thrown out the window, now), and learned to use her brain in a time of crisis. It was pretty safe to say that without one Kyden Goodlow, Ami wouldn't be the person she was today.

However, she had to admit, when she proposed the idea of a sort of memorial service for their friend to Amadea, she was quite surprised when her normally rule-abiding redheaded twin actually agreed. Kyden had clearly left a huge impact on her life, as well, and the two of them needed to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't really in their lives anymore. And so, the idea of a memorial service was born, complete with candles, food, and music- two of which Amadea was primarily responsible for. The other one (music, of course) was left up to Ami to provide. Thankfully, music was one of Ami's legitimate skills, so there would be no chance of something accidentally blowing up that night.

A few minutes before Amadea and Ami were to meet on the Grounds, Ami left her slumbering dormmates to creep towards the Rehearsal Room first. She'd actually dressed fairly nicely for their little service, wiggling into a comfy sweater and a nice pair of jeans, before stuffing her wand and her own candles into her pockets. As a last thought, Ami grabbed the drawing Kyden had done of her and Amadea that night up on the Astronomy Tower; the two girls, huddled together under the stars, heads tilted together in conversation. If you looked close enough, the stars in the sky even spelled out their names. Even after two years, Ami had kept the drawing in good condition, and now, she folded it gently before tucking that into her pocket, as well. After tugging her Docs on, she crept out of her dorm and the Hufflepuff common room, silently making her way towards the Rehearsal Room to grab a guitar, before sneaking out towards the Grounds.

It had been decided that Amadea would use her Invisibility Cloak to get out of the castle, as she had far less experience wandering around Hogwarts at odd hours of the night. Ami was practically a pro by now, and had felt even if she had to go to the Rehearsal Room first, the Invisibility Cloak would only be a burden and slow her down. But with her supplies in hand, Ami headed off towards the hill that they'd planned to meet at. She could see Amadea whispering something at the hill, and she grinned in anticipation as she neared her best friend.

"Right here, Dea," she said quietly, although she figured that she'd end up scaring Amadea, anyways. Not that she blamed her; everyone was a little jumpier when it was pitch black outside. "Let's get this party started, then." Gently setting the guitar on the ground, Ami carefully positioned her candles in the air, lighting them with a small box of matches she had found in the bottom of her suitcase. There would be no risking it with Fire-Making Spell tonight, and Ami intended to play it as safe as possible. She didn't need the weight of landing Amadea in detention on her conscience, too. "Here," she said quietly, handing the box of matches to Amadea, so she could light her own candles. Soon enough, the place would be illuminated by candle-light, which, accompanied by the moonlight, would be plenty for them to see with.

"Oh dang, is that a cauldron cake?" Ami asked excitedly, glancing at the food Amadea had brought with. She couldn't eat it, of course, but she'd brought along a small packet of Oreos to munch on anyways, as a small treat for herself. Oh, the pitfalls of being vegan! "I guess we should get rolling..." she said, glancing around. Obviously, there was no one there, but she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching them. There always seemed to be someone watching at Hogwarts, so chances were, she was just being overly paranoid.

"Okay, uh... I guess you can lay the cloak out on the ground, and we can sit on it?" Ami suggested, realizing that they had forgotten to bring a picnic blanket. Stupid, stupid, stupid... and to think, she had fancied herself to be a good planner! Are you telling me that she could pull off a massive, amazing, surprise birthday party in the middle of the night for Mia Alexander at age 11, but she couldn't ever organize a picnic for two people at 14? Total bullshit, this is some faulty character development right here. Clearing her throat slightly, Ami added, "And then we can sing a little bit, talk a little bit, and bid a proper adios to our amigo mejor."

We miss you, buddy, she thought fondly with a heavy sigh, glancing towards the Quidditch pitch with a fond look in her eyes. Maybe someday, you'll come back to us. She had been pretty torn up about her fight with Scott lately, but she wasn't going to think about that tonight (although she totally was). Tonight was about honoring their friendship with a good fellow- the best fellow.

── ❋ ──

𝓜aybe splitting up wasn't such a good idea, Amadea thought to herself as she squinted through the darkness trying to find her friend. Even though Ami had good intentions, wanting to grab her guitar so they could serenade Kyden, Amadea now questioned whether or not it was worth it. What if they just spent the whole night trying to find each other and then eventually were caught? They could easily just have done some acapella tunes for their Slytherin friend; Amadea was sure he wouldn't care whether or not they had a guitar with them.

As these thoughts were swirling through her head, a voice broke through the silence. Ami alerted Amadea of her presence; despite her anticipation for the girl to arrive, Amadea still jumped, startled. Maybe it was the darkness, but Amadea's nerves were skyrocketing. Luckily, she fought the urge to let out a yelp and went for just a small "oh!" instead, turning around to see her friend.

Amadea let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Ami was finally here. Now they could, as she put it, get the party started. Amadea watched as Ami took out some matches in order to light the magical candles; she loved how thoughtful Ami was being about all of this. Amadea knew that Ami was aware of how much out of her comfort zone Amadea was right now, especially since they were breaking the rules and she appreciated how many precautions Ami was taking. Amadea took her own magical candles and spread them out so they formed a circle with Ami's candles. Taking the match box from Ami, Amadea quickly lit her own candles and soon enough the place was glowing with a mixture of candlelight and moonlight. It was absolutely breathtaking and Amadea was sure that Kyden would have loved it. "Wow it's beautiful," Amadea whispered.

As she turned back around, she noticed that Ami had brought not only the candles and her guitar with her, but the drawing Kyden had completed of the girls when they had first met in the Astronomy Tower. Amadea had forgotten about the image, but immediately as she saw it, the memories came flooding back. That night was when the three of them first met, scaring Ami half to death. They had then started conserving and soon enough, Kyden had pulled out his sketchbook to draw the girls. His image showed Amadea and Ami sitting together, talking, perfectly capturing the beginning of their friendship. The stars behind them spelled out their names. It was beautiful and it made Amadea want to cry.

Luckily, Ami broke through the silence again, mentioning Amadea's cauldron cake. Amadea smiled, holding it up. "Looks delicious, doesn't it?" she taunted. "Much better than that overly processed food that you call an Oreo." As much as Amadea respected Ami's decision to be vegan, she still couldn't understand what would bring someone to do such a thing. Yes, she cared a lot about animals and the environment, but that didn't mean she was going to stop eating animal products. Life without cauldron cakes seemed like a dreary life to Amadea. Luckily, she wasn't the one who was the vegan; Ami could deal with her own dreary life.

At Ami's instructions, Amadea laid her Invisibility Cloak onto the ground, and sat down on it. When she had first purchased the item, it was a bit were to her to be able to feel the fabric but not be able to see it at all. Now, she was more used to it. She motioned for Ami to come sit next to her. "That sounds like a perfect idea," Amadea said. "Before we get started, though, we need to add something." She whipped out her wand, grabbed the drawing Kyden had done of the two girls and placed it into the center of the ring of candles. Then she thought back to the spell she had learned in school. "Orchideous!" Amadea commanded, moving her wand in a circle. There was a bright flash of pink light - Amadea internally cringed as the light shone brightly; hopefully no one had seen - and then in front of her lay a bouquet of flowers. Transfiguration had never been Amadea's best subject and she sighed in happy relief as her spell was successfully cast.

She turned back to Ami with a smile. "What's a tribute without any flowers?" she said. Not a proper one, that's what. Now that everything was finally set up, Amadea was ready to begin the tribute. Kyden Goodlow, the best of fellows, deserved it and Amadea couldn't wait to give him the remembrance that would last a lifetime.

@Ami Procoppio

── ❋ ──

"Looks delicious, doesn't it? Much better than that overly processed food that you call an Oreo."

"Excuse me!" Ami exclaimed, feigning horror and offense, "But the Oreo is a staple of American culture. Don't attack my culture, you Brit. I'll start a war over it, it's what we do." She was rambling, of course, but it was marginally better than dwelling on their lost friend. They could cry and weep, or they could celebrate the good times and fond memories they had with their Slytherin friend with some good food and good music. Ami, of course, preferred the latter, so she had already made up her mind that she was not going to cry. There would be no tears tonight!

Ami plopped down on the ground next to Amadea, the two sharing the cloak quite comfortably. Her guitar lay on the ground beside them, ready to be played when the appropriate time came... which seemed to be now. Ami started reaching for her guitar when Amadea piped up again, and her hand froze before returning to her side.

"Before we get started, though, we need to add something."

"Oh, do we now?" Ami said, glancing at Amadea with raised eyebrows. Was she missing something...? But she grinned sheepishly as Amadea conjured a bouquet of flowers, nodding in agreement with her rhetorical question. How silly of her to forget flowers... taking out her own wand, Ami's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she intoned, "Orchideous!" Her own bouquet of flowers appeared next to Amadea's, and she put her wand away with a satisfied smile. "It's the perfect touch," she admitted. "He'd love this, if he were here..."

Shaking the sad thoughts away, Ami opened her package of Oreos with a crinkle of the packaging, and stuffed her mouth with one of them. "Eat!" she exclaimed, gesturing to Amadea's cauldron cake with her mouth full. Gross. "It's no fun eating alone." Finally managing to swallow her first Oreo down, she glanced at Amadea. "I can sing a song first, and then, uh... I guess we can talk about Kyden."

Ami had only ever been to three other candlelight vigils, like this, before in her life. They had all been friends of her dad's when he served in the military, and Ami had been quite young during the vigils, so she didn't really have much of a clear memory... but she knew that even though they had placed quite the emphasis on "celebrating life" and all of that, most people ended up crying anyway. But there was always music, and people would get up on stage to talk about the people the vigils were for, and those were things that the two redheads could do, easy peasy.

Picking up her guitar, Ami strummed it gently before starting the finger-picking pattern, clearing her throat uncomfortably as she realized that she hadn't... really... sang anything in front of her friends before. She'd played music for them, certainly, but she couldn't really remember when she'd actually used her voice. The only time... the only time had been with Scott, she realized with a pang. But tonight was about Kyden, and Amadea, not Scott. So clearing her throat again as she stalled, Ami finally opened her mouth to sing.

It wasn't like she was a bad singer- she had perfect pitch, after all, so it would be physically painful for her to sing out of tune. But her voice wasn't necessarily a pleasant one, nor one that had a nice tone. But, it would do, especially for a song as simple as this. "You've got a friend in me..." she sang quietly, her fingers dancing across the guitar strings with a practiced air. "When the road looks rough ahead, and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed, you just remember what your old pal said. Boy, you've got a friend in me."

And so she sang, her voice quiet but strong as it rang through the night. She could almost feel the tears in the corners of her eyes, but she steadfastly refused to cry tonight. It was a celebration, not a funeral! With a final ringing from her guitar, Ami smiled sheepishly at Amadea. "Wherever you are, Kyden," she said quietly, glancing at the candles and the drawing of the two girls, "We miss you. A lot. But hopefully, you're happy, and hopefully, you're doing well. We won't forget you anytime soon, and those memories will stick with us forever... so thank you. For everything, but most importantly, your friendship." Turning to Dea, Ami grinned at her, although her voice was wavering just slightly. "C'mon, your turn... don't make me cry, though."

── ❋ ──

𝓐madea rolled her eyes as @Ami Procoppio went off about Oreos; while she enjoyed eating the sweet treats, she found other less processed desserts much more appealing. "Oh a war now?" Amadea asked, amused. "What, you're going to send all the vegans after me with their Oreo packages?" She grinned. She was sure Oreos were hardly a staple of the American culture, but she enjoyed nagging Ami nonetheless. She was glad that the two girls seemed to be in an upbeat mood; given the reason why they were gathered here, they could easily just sit together and sob. Luckily, neither of them seemed sad. Amadea had cried enough to last a lifetime, she didn't need to add any more tears to her lifetime-of-tears tonight.

Amadea smiled as Ami procured her own bouquet of flowers to add to the memorial; it looked gorgeous and was the perfect touch. The smile on Amadea's face wavered slightly as she thought about Ami's words: He'd love this, if he were here... She imagined Kyden standing next to the girls, laughing and bantering along with them, being the perfect balance between Ami's crazy, outgoing self and Amadea's quiet, shy personality. He was the perfect third to their trio and Amadea missed him like crazy.

Ami broke through Amadea's veil of sad thoughts as she motioned for the girl to eat her food. Happily, Amadea picked up her cauldron cake, taking a huge bite of the chocolatey goodness. Thank god she wasn't a vegan. Amadea was surprised she had enough self-control to not shove the entire thing in her mouth; ever since she had purchased it at their last trip to Hogsmeade, it taunted her as it sat, waiting to be eaten. Every day Amadea had to do everything in her power not to take the darn thing and devour it, but she knew she wanted to save it for this occasion. Thankfully, her self control had allowed her to wait until this instant, and Amadea happily ate as she listened to Ami begin to sing.

Amadea realized that she had never heard her friend sing before; Amadea knew that Ami had a knack for music and singing but had never had the chance to hear it. She was excited. Ami began by plucking out a simple finger-picking pattern on her guitar - Amadea couldn't help but glance back at the castle, hoping there was no one there to hear or see anything. Amadea immediately recognized the song and couldn't help but smile. It was You've Got a Friend In Me, a perfect song for the evening. As Ami began to sing, Amadea finished her cauldron cake, smiling and swaying along. She admired Ami's voice; the girl had perfect pitch and her voice was certainly very well suited for the song. When she reached the last verse, Amadea quietly opened her mouth and sang along, harmonizing to the sound of Ami's soft voice. "And as the years go by, our friendship will never die," she sang softly, letting her harmony blend with Ami's, "You're gonna see, it's our destiny. You've got a friend in me. You've got a friend in me."

The song came to a close and Amadea's eyes were teary; it was such a nice sentimental moment and the lyrics of the song had struck home with Amadea. Thankfully, Ami spoke first, giving a perfect speech to Kyden and the impact his friendship had on the two girls. When she finished, tears were leaking out of Amadea's eyes. She cleared her throat and swiped quickly at her eyes before opening her mouth. "Kyden," she said. "You were one of the first friends I had. Our trio brought so much joy into my life," she paused so she wouldn't start sobbing. "You helped me overcome my fear of flying...which is now back," she laughed slightly. "We love you and we miss you. So much. Thank you for being such a good friend." Amadea sighed, turning back to Ami. She smiled through her tears, hoping Ami would understand that she wasn't really crying because she was too sad; it was a bittersweet moment. "What's next?" she asked.

── ❋ ──

~ * ~

After curfew, Ruby was patrolling as usual. Her shoes tapped against the ground with a consistent rhythm as she walked along the familiar route that she took during her morning and evening patrols. She synced her breathing with the sound of her footsteps, focusing on it to make sure that she stayed calm and didn't let her thoughts wander. Too much had been getting to her recently. She was getting more and more irritated with everyone's actions, their words, their friendships. It got on her nerves for a reason she couldn't quite describe, nor did she want to. She was perfectly fine without them.

She didn't need their approval, she didn't need her parents' approval, she didn't need anyone's approval. Even if she had wanted it, she likely wouldn't be getting it because of her own recent actions. She had been lashing out, being mean to people, using magic to hurt them. What was perhaps worse is she didn't regret it. It didn't exactly take away the dull anger she constantly felt when she was around people, but it satisfied her in the moment. Truth be told, she was jealous of others, although she didn't realise it. While everyone had their bad days and frequently had traumas that she had no idea of, she still saw their friendships and families and felt a pang of sadness and longing.

She was hoping that no one was out here tonight and that she wouldn't have to deal with it and give them detention. She wasn't sure that she could keep her cool if they argued with her, and did she really need another fight? If she kept doing that, eventually someone, such as Professor Jensen, would find out. A few days ago, at the end of May, that Hufflepuff had threatened to tell her. She hadn't been confronted by her Head of House yet, so she had assumed that the girl she had duelled with had not gone to the professor after all. Then again, it had only been a few days, so she couldn't be sure.

What was that? Was that singing and music she was hearing? Who was doing this, and after curfew as well? She scanned the darkness, but it was futile. Continuing on, she eventually spotted a glow. She headed for it and arrived in time for the end of their song, and right then, she realised who one of these rule-breaking students was. It was that girl who had threatened to tell Professor Jensen, the one who had burned her. Wasn't this just the perfect little opportunity to ruin her fun? “Did you miss me?” the prefect's cold voice asked from the darkness.

She stepped into the glow and pretended to consider the final thing the girl had said when her song had ended. “What's next? I think a detention would be quite fitting, hm?” The hint of a mocking grin was displayed on her face, teeth bared as she eyed the girl. She was avoiding the other person's gaze, as she knew that she would likely be destroying any remotely good opinion that one Ami Procoppio might have held of Ruby.

~ * ~

── ❋ ──

𝓐madea's question hung in the air as the words left her mouth and while she waited for Ami to respond, she looked around at their surroundings. The candles cast a soft glow around the blanket they had set up and the sound of the last guitar strum still hung in the air. Amadea closed her eyes and looked up toward the sky, just thinking about all of the great memories that she had experienced with Kyden and Ami, the good old days. The night was as perfect as Amadea could have imagined it; they had a beautiful setup, beautiful music, and delicious food. Amadea felt so satisfied; she knew that Kyden would have appreciated this night if he had been there with the girls.

The night actually kind of reminded Amadea of the night that they had all bonded. It seemed like such a long time ago, but then at the same time seemed like it was just yesterday. She could still remember all of the details: the breeze at the top of the Astronomy Tower, Ami's banshee scream, the beautiful drawing Kyden gave them as they all talked and got to know each other. As Amadea glanced down at the picture that Ami had brought with her, she reveled in the fact that the girl in the picture was her...but it also wasn't. Sure, it was her, but that girl had no idea what good friendships were about to form from that moment.

As Amadea reflected, she was snapped out of her memories by a familiar sound. Unfortunately, it wasn't the sound of Ami's voice. No this voice had a special place in Amadea's memory, but it was special for all of the wrong reasons. Amadea spun around to face the new voice belonging to the horribly rude Prefect that Amadea had crashed into in the corridors. Of course, Amadea thought to herself. The fates could never grant her one perfect night, a perfect night with her friend to reflect on the good memories of their past. No, she had to also be reminded of horrible memories that she wished she could just erase from existence. For some reason, this girl brought out the worst in Amadea. She was already grappling with enough and this girl always seemed to catch her at her breaking point, when she couldn't control herself anymore and let things out in the worst way possible.

All of the horrible memories of their last encounter came flooding back to Amadea as she stood, rooted to the spot listening to the girl's sneer. The way Amadea had felt the books tumble out of her hands as they collided, the shock of being hexed, the horrible feeling of satisfaction as she set the girl on fire, and the searing pain of being magically stabbed. And of course, she couldn't forget the last backstabbing blow as the girl had sent the Knockback Jinx her way as Amadea had tried to be the better person and just walk away. Subconsciously, Amadea noticed her fingers brushing against the scar she still carried around on her forearm from the spell the girl had cast at her.

The anger was starting to come back now, not just because of the memories from their first encounter. How could the fates curse Amadea in this way? All she wanted was to give a tribute to their friend and this was how she was repaid? She was repaid by being caught out after curfew and was now about to receive the first detention of her entire life given to her by the girl she couldn't stand most in the world. How was this fair? It wasn't. In her new haze of anger, Amadea could only think to do one thing. She was going to get in trouble, Amadea knew this. She had nothing to lose anymore. "Flipendo!" she commanded, her wand coming out of nowhere and whipping at the girl who had caused her so much pain. "That was payback from last time," she growled at the Prefect who had now been knocked backward. "Now we're even."

Amadea kept her wand out, knowing that the girl was probably going to fire back at her even though it was unallowed. This prefect clearly had no problem with breaking the rules; Amadea regretted not immediately going to Professor Jensen after their first encounter. Maybe that could have prevented this. Another thought popped into Amadea's mind and she turned back toward her friend, who was probably very confused at this point. This was quite out of character for Amadea; usually, it was Ami who was beating people up and breaking the rules. "Ami I-" Amadea started. "I can explain." How could she sum up everything in a few words before the girl inevitably retaliated? "She hurt me."

── ❋ ──

Hold up. What? Things were happening very quickly, and Ami needed to catch up. Her eyes darted from Amadea, her best friend and possible secret twin to Ruby, esteemed Headliner editor who constantly had to put up with Ami’s ridiculous grammar and spelling on a monthly basis. She liked to assume that she knew both of them fairly well, but tonight really seemed to be testing that. After all, neither of them had ever mentioned a burning hatred for each other to her, which kind of offended her. How dare she be left out of the loop!

Of course, Ruby’s threat of a detention scared Ami, even if she’d never admit it. She’d actually managed to make it the whole year without landing herself in detention, and she’d be kicking herself soon enough if she actually ended up in detention. She’d been so close to a clean record this year, but then she decided to push the rules just a little too far tonight. She should’ve known better, especially with everything that had been going on around Hogwarts this year. Sighing out loud, Ami glanced at Amadea ruefully with a shrug. If they were going to get a detention, they might as well get one for something worthwhile, like attacking a prefect… right?

“Amadea... she hurt you?” Ami repeated, her voice turning steely and cold as she narrowed her eyes at Ruby. Maybe Scott didn’t need protecting, but she wasn’t going to let Amadea face Ruby’s inevitable wrath alone. But Amadea was one of the most peaceful people she knew, and would never even hurt a fly. For her to be so angry that she actually hurt someone, on purpose? That alone was enough to have Ami’s protective instincts kick in. “Kick rocks, Ruby!” she spat venemously, her hand reaching for her wand and brandishing it out in front of her with a flourish. The action itself wasn’t all that intimidating, though, as both Ruby and Amadea knew Ami’s complete inability to duel. Fight, yes, but duel? That was a whole other kettle of fish.

But maybe it was the thought that counted. Even Ami’s frame alone, towering above both the other girls, might’ve been intimidating enough for Ruby to run.

Ah, who was she trying to kid? Ruby would never run from a fight. But between the three of them, Ami could certainly manage to hold her own through her fists alone. “Seriously,” Ami said, staring Ruby down as she automatically stepped in front of Amadea, “Get lost, or…” Glancing at her wand, she smirked as she gestured with it carelessly, saying, “Or I’ll break your nose. You know I would.”

It wasn’t like she sought out violence, but something in her was itching for a fight. She’d gotten into plenty of scrapes and tricky situations during her time at Hogwarts, sure, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d truly gotten into a fight since Dorian. It’d been too long since she’d last hit or kicked someone, especially at a school where everyone was just so fond of using their magical sticks to do everything. Frankly, she probably wouldn’t mind detention as much if she got a couple of hits out of it, even if Amadea would be totally aghast.

Turning her head back to Amadea while keeping her wand pointed towards the prefect sprawled on the ground, she whispered under her breath, “Am I doing this right? I don’t think I’ve threatened someone like this since first year, you know.”

@Ami Procoppio @Amadea Campbell @Ruby Cazares

It was a novice mistake, and one he would never make again after tonight.
Although Pericles and Ruby had partnered up for the evening, sharing a pleasant patrol, they diverged when the first-year needed to stop by the little warlock's room. He had urged her to head out onto the grounds without him, insisting he would catch up to her. What he witnessed upon exiting the courtyard and scouring for signs of light filled Peri's veins with ice. His stare flicked from sleepy, to surprised, to steely. Spindly fingers flitted to his wand with the rapidity of reflex, drawing it fast. Curious, pondering steps turned into a trot, then a sprint, carrying him quick and quiet through the dark. The young wizard's voice- typically airy and mellow- was hurled like an icy javelin. "VERDIMILLIOUS." The scene was similar to one from earlier on in the year: Pericles had come across Ruby facing down three others girls, intent on pelting her with snowballs. The lad leapt to side with her, levitating a snowman's head and sending it sailing towards them in retaliation before they booked it together. Granted, he hadn't known that Ruby initiated that encounter.

He didn't know that she had provoked this encounter either.

All that Pericles Dralt knew for certain was that his friend and fellow prefect had been struck down, and the odds- two against one- needed to be evened out. His father had taught him that when a wand is pointed at yourself or an ally, disarm first, question later. He had no sadistic desire to inflict pain on anyone, let alone injure Amy. The fellow Headliner member had seemed silly, sweet, her rebellious side harmless (until now). But the way she loomed over the fallen Ruby spurred him to act, and act he would, attempting to fire a temporarily blinding blast of green sparks her way before barking "Stop. What is the matter with you?!" Storming onto the scene, silver eyes flashing like an unsheathed blade, his fair freckled features were warped by a never-before-seen twist of tension. An accusatory leer darted on towards Amadea. Pericles was coming to terms with the realization that prefects were often looked down upon. They were heralded as buzzkills, sticks in the mud, better-than-thous. (He had yet to learn that some lived up to this reputation.) All he wanted was to prevent students from hurting themselves or others, and in this instance, he would do everything in his power to be a worthy ally to Ruby.

~ * ~

Ruby's words were not meant kindly but they were hardly unfair. The girls were out after curfew, singing and lighting candles! What did they expect? Yet instead of responding with words, the girl that had bumped into Ruby at the end of last month "repaid" the prefect by casting the Knockback Jinx at her. It hit the young Slytherin squarely in the chest and she was flung back, hitting the ground with a thump. She winced, the impact was not soft by any means as she had not had enough of a warning to cast the Softening Charm.

She was getting ready to pick herself back up again, just starting to prop herself up with her arms stretched out behind her when Ami stormed over, standing threateningly above her. Physical violence was what she was suggesting with a smirk? How crude. They had magic, why not use it? Ruby was about to taunt Ami when she realised that the older girl wasn't actually aware of the situation. She had given Ruby the name of the other girl though—Amadea. “Sh-she didn't tell you? She set me on fire, Ami, I… I-I had to retaliate to protect myself,” she stammered, looking for all the world like an innocent, terrified little girl. Her eyes widened as she channeled any bit of genuine fear she possessed from the girl's intimidating position above her.

Truthfully, she was attempting to manipulate the Hufflepuff, to see if it worked before resorting to other methods. She was technically being honest—while she had prompted the attack both back then and now, setting her on fire was an extreme response from Amadea. And Ami? Ruby had thought of her decently prior to this, but knowing that she stood with the Slytherin's enemy erased all good opinions of her. Just then, Pericles arrived. “Thank goodness you're here! I mentioned detention and they completely lost it, attacking me,” she cried. Seizing the moment of distraction, she leapt up and back onto her feet, finding her way to her Ravenclaw friend's side.

Knowing that she was safer than she had been a moment ago, her confidence was boosted and she felt able to let the act slip. A wicked smile that screamed of triumph and smugness settled on her face as she turned back to the girls, uttering “Tarantallegra,” as she made the gesture that was akin to a pair of legs, directing it at Amadea. It wasn't nearly as painful as the spells she had previously cast on her, but with any luck it would succeed at humiliating and frustrating her. Besides, she wasn't sure how damaging she was willing to be in front of Ami and especially Pericles. The boy may have stuck up for her in a snowball fight, but that was lighthearted. Here, she and the other girls were out for blood.

For moderation (year 2 info):

Reducio

Abilities: N/A
Statistics: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 5 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 7

Casting Tarantallegra
Damage
• 50 + AP × 5
Effect
• The target suffers –1 Accuracy and –2 Evasion.
• RP effect outlined by the moderator (what kind of dance).
• Repeated hit will not increase the debuff, but will update the duration if it's longer.
Duration
• 1-2 rounds (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds).
Nullify
• General Counter-Spell removes the whole effect and stat loss.
Critical Failure
• The effect is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• +50 Damage, no duration roll — max duration applied.

~ * ~