Closed An Unexpected Guest pv

Youssuf sighed with relief. He'd found the small hole in the wall maybe a week ago and had named it just that - The Hole In The Wall. It wasn't large - just about enough space to seat three people if they squeezed a little. He'd thought it was his own place, even though it was dank, and cold. Also it was filled with old rubble, perhaps from an explosive accident earlier. It was covered with a rusty suit of armour, which managed to hide it pretty damn well. Even so, it was pretty cosy, and he had plans to clean it secretly when no one was around.
Youssuf was sitting there, sipping from his bottle of Exploda Soda, eating a Peppermint Toad and enjoying his book, when there was a commotion down the hall. It seemed a ghost was chasing someone. To his utter surprise, the kid being chased slipped into the Hole in The Wall. And then asked him who he was! Youssuf deflated. Apparently it wasn't his place. Then he perked up! Maybe it could be shared?
He looked at the kid more closely. He was a Hufflepuff with caramel coloured skin; not a first-year, clearly. Probably a second or a thirdie. He lifted his eyes to the older chap's face, and saw a horrific scar stretching from his eyebrow to his cheek. It was reminiscent of a werewolf claw attack....and perhaps that was what it was, for it was clearly described in his book. Only wounds from a few creatures couldn't be cured by magic, and thus they scarred.
Youssuf decided to ignore it and held out his hand. "Hi, bro. I'm Youssuf, Youssuf Baid. And who are you?"

@Yousuff Baid @Daemon Cross

Edme had been carefully roaming the halls, quiet steps making small noise on the cold floor below. Without her clunky boots, it was easy to move soundlessly down the halls. Well, it was a little harder when you were barefoot. Why was she barefoot? They didn't really know herself. They just had wanted to get out of the commons without alerting the entire castle.

They weren't determined to find every nook and cranny of the old palace, as it wasn't like she didn't have years to search. Any secret passages or hideouts were completely off their mind, unknown to her.

Well, minus the little hole in the wall behind the suit of armor.

So she accidentally discovered a fairly gaping hole in the wall and occasionally went over and hid in it for hours at a time just to read or think. It wasn't like they were doing it for juvenile acts! It was all innocent. Usually.

So here they were, creeping through the halls like a ghost wandering their place of choice, a book in her dominant hand and shoes in the other. The hole was just where it usually was, only in plain sight if you knew of it. She ducked into it slowly, faltering by the drawbacks of their lanky figure.

Of course two boys were having a casual conversation in her spot. Of course one of them was the delinquent from the train and classroom. Of course the other was the second troublemaker from the Owlery.

"Uh..." they croaked out, her face a tomato of color. Of course. "It's... why are you in my- or... the-" she wanted to punch the shocked look off her face. Of course other students would notice a big old hole in the wall. People aren't stupid, Edme. "Hello Yousuff." what was the other students name? Cole? Cade? "Other."

WC:307

Youssuf scrambled up by reflex, and then was suddenly and painfully reminded that the hole was small. He sat back down, clutching his head. Through a haze of reddish pain, he dimly perceived the girl greeting him, and all of a sudden he recognized her - Edme Achillian, whom he'd met first in the Owlery. He'd wished her a happy birthday in the Library too.
Bloody hell! This Hole in The Wall was becoming a tourist trap! Ah well, he thought, more friends, more joy, so said his religion.
He said - "Hey Edme, nice to meet you...again. What a coincidence, eh? All three of us stumbling onto the same hole."
Youssuf studied her face, and chuckled. "You thought this was your own spot too, hey? Don't worry, we've both been there, done that. Like an Exploda Soda? And/or an Acid Pop?"
Having put the Sodas and a selection of candies before them, pulled from his pockets, he returned to his book, retreating to the farthest corner of the hole, where a granite wall was oddly warm.
Then he remembered his courtesies and said to the two of them - "Would either of you like to sit here with me? There's space for three, and it is slightly warmer than out there."
Youssuf had a hunch that he would be friends with the kids in that Hole in The Wall for a long time to come.

◐◐◐

@Yousuff Baid @Daemon Cross

◐◐◐

The space Edme had burrowed in, farthest from these, waht she was calling, "visitors". Yousuff and... Cross! that was the name. They were usually good at remembering. Strange.

"Uh... good to make your acquaintance. A-Again." they smiled, considering holding a hand out for shaking, deciding against it due to how awkward that situation would play out.

She was reassured that it was a common mistake to think this place belonged to just one. For all they knew, it belonged to all the students and they just hadn't had a close enough run in. She doubted it though.

"I've never been a big fan." Edme denied the offer of soda, hating the idea of soda in this close a space. She wasn't claustrophobic, but maybe she would become so in a matter of minutes. One might never know. They were a fan though. Not a big one, but a fan.

Yousuff offered for them to sit in there with him. In the small enclosed space with barely enoguh room to breathe. Though he was right, as it was awfully cold out there and Edme's feet were freezing from the bare stone floor.

"I suppose. Though all I brought were..." she peered down at the small collection of books in their arms, finger white from the grip, and so sweaty she felt they may simply burn through the books, "well, these."

Trying to get more comfortable, they squeezed into the corner, the one she usually took already occupied by the others. They considered lighting a candle she had stuffed into her satchel, but decided it was more a fire hazard then an attempt to bring warmth.

◐◐◐

WC:283

Youssuf gazed curiously at the books Edme was holding (why was she still holding em? She could have put them down) and tried to read their titles, but her arm was blocking his line of sight. Too bad. He felt a bit uncomfortable; he shouldn't have been sitting so close to people he'd just met. Perhaps they would be offended by him 'invading' their private space. But the warm space just wasn't big enough. Oh, that reminded him of something weird he'd found a few months ago.
"An year, huh? Nice, nice. You don't look like a second-year. Anyway, do you know why this space is warm? I figured it out a month or two ago. It's because the floor we are sitting on is quite, quite hollow! Below us is a vent from one of the kitchen chimneys. It gives up warmth. Isn't that interesting?"
He paused as the Cross kid reached past his shoulder to pull out a pack of Muggle glowsticks. "Oh, so that's yours? I found it once. I thought it looked pretty old, so I assumed it didn't work."
"I ain't telling you my favourite memory. But my fave song....that's easy enough. Right now it's El Dorado, by Stellar. Also Ashes, Bad Dream, Daredevil and Catalyst by the same artist. His music is awesome."

@Yousuff Baid @Daemon Cross

A year? Edme tried to recall those words being said by him, or at least a mention of his being in second year. She conformed to silence rather than asking, though was forcefully emerged from it as Cross pointedly made a remark about his name and how Edme hadn't been listening to him.

"I was listening!" Edme retorted a little more whiny than they had wanted. Fixing herself quickly, they averted eye contact and mumbled out, "I was listening. I just forgot. Sorry." it was a bit rude to call someone "other", Edme would admit.

He reached back and grabbed out what looked to be a muggle pack of glow sticks, and from the looks of it they were a bright neon green. The light was a bit of a shock as it flooded through the hole and cast an ominous glow on each of the occupants faces. Edme looked at them curiously, a certain familiarity that was clear in her head.

Cross spoke of a price for being in the hole, an initiation of sorts. A memory or song? Edme wracked her brain for a response while Yousuff went a little over the song limit with five different songs.

"I suppose... well, I guess for a song I would say Back to the Old House." Edme answered, "Oh, or She. I like that song too."

Edme often resonated with songs, finding a familiar touch of relation to a lot of the music they listened to. Those two songs were probably the greatest in that factor, both connecting to Edme in a way that even her own words couldn't describe.

WC:271