Lock-in Hufflepuff Gryffindor Event Closed

Frost had seen The Gryffindor Girl, Aurelia, observe the area. She seemed to be smart enough to observe things that aren't people. But the expression that played on Aurelia's face sparked something in Frost's gut. A stomach churning feeling. 

Aurelia had noticed something Frost hadn't. Something was off.

Uneasiness washed through the Hufflepuff Girl's system. What was wrong? 

Narrowing her eyes, she squared her shoulders and faced the Brunette. 

"Hi, it's Frost from the pick up Quidditch Game right?" 

The Ginger nodded and beamed. She remembered that Aurelia was the one who set up the game of Quidditch.

"And yeah, you can join me. I'm thinking about going down one of the tunnels,"

 
The taller girl gestured to the dark figure that was a tunnel that stood behind them. 

"You can come along if you wish but its also alright if you don't want to,"

 Right. The South Tunnel. The room was getting crowded by the second. Frost, being the people person she was, she could tell that Aurelia didn't want to be confined or blocked off by the people.

It was smart to leave now before they had trouble. 

Frost knew it was better to stay in pairs. Even though Professor Lear said it was safe, it was always best to assume the worst. The darkness wasn't something the Ginger was afraid of, but it would be a problem if they couldn't see anything. 

She spotted some torches on the wall to their left. There were only a few left, so Frost grabbed two, one for her and one for her new companion. Or if she didn't need it, she would use it as a backup, should the first go out.

Gulping, she stared into the depths of the South Tunnel. She had no idea how long it went on and no idea if it was the right one to choose. Or even worse, what strange things lurked within the darkness. 

The snickering behind them seemed to get louder. Something about a dress and some person named Siege. Scoffing, Frost decided she didn't need to get caught up in that. 

She grabbed her leather bag and checked to see if all of it's contents were intact. Assured that she had everything, she slung her bag over her shoulder and looked into her tall, Brunette companion's eyes. 

Frost cleared her throat and cracked her knuckles. 

"Ready to go, Aurelia?"

Smiling, Amadea shook the Hufflepuff’s hand and smiled as he accepted the offer to become a team. Amadea tried not to outwardly wince as hementioned how it seemed as though most people were acting like it was a funeral. She ignored the voice in her head that said it is to her and instead tried to focus on other things, like recruiting the Gryffindor that was sitting in front of them.

Amadea produced what she hoped was a convincing happy smile, not an I-really-wish-I-didn’t-have-to-be-here-I-don’t-want-to-die grimace. Lightening the mood wasn’t high on Amadea’s list of expertise. Thankfully, John Johns (she really couldn’t think of him as just John) piped up, enthusiasm and all as he offered up a team name, hoping to convince the Gryffindor to join the team.

The enthusiasm of her Hufflepuff teammate must have been the selling point, as the Gryffindor accepted their offer with a handshake. As she looked at him, Amadea did feel as though she had seen him before. She couldn’t place where exactly, however Hogwarts was a huge school, and it was likely she had seen him in the hallway or at some event. “Rehearsal,” she repeated, thinking back to the day in the ballroom. She shrugged, not quite remembering. “Wherever it was, pleased to make the..re-acquaintance I suppose it would be, Anatole!” She hoped she didn’t sound too uptight and formal; her nerves sometimes got in the way of her conversational skills though it wasn't like she had any to begin with.

Despite it all, he had still accepted the invitation from the Huffrindors, which was now apparently their team name. Amadea tried to smile as Anatole made a joke about not dying, but internally she was wincing. She really didn’t want to die. As irrational as her thoughts might be, she couldn’t think of a time when a large event involving many students ended well: there was the disaster at the Blossom Ball when Charles York decided to throw his temper tantrum in the middle of the ballroom, and of course the infamous Hufflepuff campout. Amadea shivered at the thought. She hadn’t even been at the campout, but word travelled fast around the school and the terrors from the campout still haunted many of her fellow housemates. 

She barricaded her thoughts behind a wall in her mind. Being distracted and worrying about things would only increase their chances of getting killed. Plus, all of these thoughts of death were really dropping her mood. She looked around the room as many groups began packing up their things and going off to search. Raising her torch higher, she illuminated the paths in front of them. “I guess we should start searching?” she said. It came out as more of a question rather than a statement, revealing just how uncertain she was. “Should we bring anything with us?” she asked the other two. Amadea really had no idea what they were doing or what they needed. Hopefully one of the others would be willing to take the lead. She just hoped they had enough skills between the three of them to survive whatever came next.

{ Talks to Reid Kovacs, Ellory Prosser, Siege Aramastus Bal, Cynthia Evans }
{ Mentions Dorian Gray & Solomon Lear }

Serena looked up as she heard the familiar sound of Reid's voice. For perhaps the first time in the day, a small but genuine smile appeared on her face. There was always something comforting about being with a friend or just knowing they were around. Reid was one of her closest friends. She owed him a lot - her life, in fact. He looked a little better than he had in previous weeks, which made her a bit more relieved. The same could be said about both of them, perhaps. They looked a little more rested and less ghastly after fully recovering from the night of the Hufflepuff Camp Out, that no one was able to forget about. Or perhaps, they were both learning how to hide it better these days. She exhaled softly, trying to control her shaky breathe as the darkness surrounded them. "Hey Reid," She greeted him as she scanned the room before nodding, "It's certainly... interesting," She continued. There was definitely something peculiar about it but she could not quite grasp what it was. Why the pair of potentially her favourite Professors had chosen such a strange place was beyond her. 

Scanning the room, she noticed a lot of familiar faces appearing. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs she knew or had simply seen around had arrived. She probably ought to make an effort and talk to some more people but they all seemed to be engaging in conversation with others already. Groups had been formed and people seemed... happy. She did not want to put a downer on that but teams seemed like a good idea. Nodding, she stood up carefully carrying her candle, "Yeah, teaming up sounds like a good idea," She replied, glad that he was here to make this a lot less scary. 

A little confused by Reid's statement, the Hufflepuff questioned it, "Worse than your nan's? What do yo-" She asked, not quite understanding the reference. One of her grandmother's had so many house elves that the house smelt and looked a lot better than her parents' house did - bigger too. They were both well off, actually. Serena's maternal side was just in a different league to her paternal side, which focused more on obtaining knowledge than money.

Serena had started to reply to him but then ended up stopping midway through her sentence. A gasp escaped her as her eyes noticed something unusual happen. For a moment, she thought her eyes and the darkness were playing tricks on her. It was as through a third dimensional portal just opened up out of nowhere and something had rolled out of it. Serena almost threw her candle in its face, jumping back a little out of fear as she pulled out her wand. Gripping it tightly, she aimed it towards the figure, ready to attack him if need be.

Her eyes adjusted after a moment and she ended up staring at the figure that had tumbled out of the portal with a look of shock on her face. She recognised the boy's face instantly, though his choice of attire was baffling, to say the least. "S- Siege?!" She questioned with a sense of panic in her voice, wondering why he was dressed in such a manner. It took her a few seconds to notice that he was bound and locked, his stuff appearing near him. She stared at her fellow prefect in complete and utter disbelief. What in Hogwarts was happening? As she considered it for a moment, she heard the sound of the door slam shut. It was hard to see it from where she was but the light that had seeped in through it suddenly disappeared. Her eyebrows narrowed as realisation hit her. "... What did you do? You pissed off the door, didn't you?" She questioned Siege quietly, her tone dripping in anger with a hint of fear in it. Of course he did. What else could the delinquent boy that had caused her endless trouble do? Her annoyed tone was one that appeared to be reserved for him. No one else had managed to get it out of her but he seemed to do it naturally. It was as though he was here just to annoy her. His very presence was irritating her. But her tone was quiet enough to be missed by most people. Only those nearby would hear her words. "Oh, for f*** sake, Siege! You had one job! Can you do everyone a favour and listen to people once in a while? Or you know, act like a Prefect for half a second?" She whispered sharply to the boy, making absolutely no attempt to help him out of the situation.

She was just too annoyed right now. Mostly at the fact that the door was now sealed and closed and there was even less light in the room than before. He had deliberately ignored Professor Lear's instructions too, of course he did. She had no idea why she expected him to actually listen to someone for once. 

The truth, however, was probably more complicated than that. She was scared. Completely afraid of even being in this room, at another potentially dangerous event whilst being surrounded in the one thing she hated the most: the darkness. Siege's actions made it worse. He purposefully antagonised the door, making it slam shut and seal them in. The little light that seeped in now completely gone. Serena was less angry at him and more scared. If anything, she was more angry at herself for being so scared and feeling this way but it came out at him - like most of her anger seems to, these days.

She sighed, irritably, deciding that she ought to help him out of this awkward mess. Well, at least help unbind him. Stepping forward, she was about to assist him when she noticed another Hufflepuff girl appear. She couldn't remember her name [CYNTHIA EVANS] but Serena recognised her. The girl was definitely a Hufflepuff though, helping out a stranger with such great concern. It was sweet. Serena ought to be more like her but... Siege was really getting on her nerves right now. So instead of being useful, she just shrugged and watched them struggle. Serena sighed softly, mentally facepalming at the whole situation. 

As they stood there, another girl [ELLORY PROSSER] that Serena did not recognise approached them carrying a torch. Although she had no idea who she was, she instantly loved her for the fact she brought some light with her. Anyone who removed the darkness was someone Serena could love. "Of course, I'm Serena," She replied, nodding as the girl wanted to join her and Reid in this trip, "Light will probably be very handy with this task..." She continued, more to herself as she trailed off and looked into the distance. The darkness of the other pathways were definitely haunting. 

"OK students, stop hanging out with me and get a move on. Shoo-shoo. Remember: no Muggle devices in these caves. Nothing is dangerous unless you bring out a muggle device"

Hearing the Professor's voice, Serena stopped to listen to him. He told them that the cavern was safe and instructed them to head out. Serena sighed softly as she listened to him. He seemed fairly confident that they would be safe. She trusted that, right? Well, no, not really but she had to force herself to trust him. She had a lot of respect and admiration for the Head of Hufflepuff. She had no choice but to trust his words, attempting to force her nerves to calm down and accept them as truth. They had checked for muggle devices, they would be fine... Surely. Perhaps... "Is there anyone else you want to team up with? We should probably start heading out..." She continued as she looked at Reid and Ellory. People were heading out, the Professor had instructed them to do so, "It appears we can go East, West or South... which route do you guys want to go?" Serena asked the group as she scanned the room, "It appears a few people are going that way... Maybe we go towards the right side instead?".

Though, at least his attire made the whole thing slightly more amusing. They certainly did not meet his usual style but that was what you get for messing with the door. She noticed another Gryffindor boy  [DORIAN GRAY] nearby. One that had attended a detention that she had ran earlier. An incredibly boring detention, which involved mindlessly watching people clean windows for a few hours. The only saving grace in the whole matter was that boy. He turned up in a very fashionable pink polka dot pyjama set, fully kitted out with a nightcap and fuzzy slippers. She had nicknamed him Pyjama Boy, because she lacked the creativity to come up with anything better in the middle of the night. The unusual fashion sense seemed to run in the house. At least, they both dressed very randomly for the occasion. She had questioned who would turn up to a detention in pyjamas and slippers earlier but now seeing as his Prefect had showed up to an adventure in a dress, it kind of made sense.

Serena laughed a little thinking about their fantastic dress sense, relaxing a bit as nothing noticeably bad had happened after the door shut. It appeared to be one of Solomon's traps. The event was, after all, called the Lock In for a reason. It was bound (no pun intended) to happen at some point. As long as there were no muggle devices, things would be fine, right? The traps had reacted with the muggle device, from what she was told. They had ensured that none were brought here today and the Professor would have tested them, surely. Perhaps this would not be as bad as she had anticipated. 

She looked over to Siege and the Hufflepuff girl [CYNTHIA EVANS]. The boy was still bound and dressed in his beautiful pink dress. Shaking her head in dismay, she looked over to Reid and the girl who had joined them, telling them both she would be back in a moment. With that, she sighed softly, "Here, let me help you," She called out to the Hufflepuff girl that was attempting to undo his binds as she pulled out a magical knife from her stuff before moving closer to them. Serena let the candle float in the air, shoved her wand away (it was a pain that they had not been taught the unlocking spell yet), "Don't move," She warned the Gryffindor boy sternly before attempting to pick the lock with her knife as the other girl did not seem to have anything to unlock it, even if she removed the chains. The magical knife was supposed to help pick the lock, by magic. Whether it worked or not was another matter but the Hufflepuff had purchased it a while back. It seemed like a very useful item that aided in her love for exploring and perhaps good for protection at times...

ACTIONS: Use Locksmith's Knife [item in trunk] to attempt to free SIEGE.

Team up with REID & ELLORY, agree to join any other teams they wish to and follow their chosen passage route [Suggest East randomly]. Continue to hold Magical Candle [item in trunk] to provide some light.

Reducio

Locksmith's Knife ---

Magical Candle ---

Once the small area that her friends had claimed was set up, Eris pulled out her wand from the jean pocket it resided in, rolling the cherry wood stick over in her hands. Letting out a chuckle at the sound of a boy screaming lamppost, the girl turned to Max and Dorian, smirk adorning her face. “These hufflepuffs keep getting stupider and stupider, discounting Reid, Serena, and rOSIE!” When did Rosie get there? Oh god. Face flushing, Eris trailed off, hopelessly. Hopefully she hadn’t heard anything but the exclamation at the end of Eris’s speech to her two troublemaker friends.

“Uh,” Eris opened her mouth to say something but shut it, seeing Max turn away from Rosie. Did he have an issue with her? Was she going to have to pick a friend? Maybe not. Just as Eris tried to form another sentence, another girl stepped up to the group.A friend of Rosie’s maybe? She was clad in yellow robes, but her face was unfamiliar, but she greeted Rosie with a friend’s smile, seemingly knowing her.

When she talked to Max, the red head’s face turned red, as she scowled at the hufflepuff. “He beat up one hufflepuff, he can beat up another. Unlike you, he has all his friends with him right now, and I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we all can pack a punch.” Toothy smile forming on her face, even though it was bright red, Eris gave a mock bow to the girl, sheer violence promised on her face.

Oops. Hopefully this girl wasn’t a close friend of Rosie’s. If she was, things were going to get weird, but it was true. Nobody was allowed to be strangely aloof and weird to her friends, especially when James and Ebony had deserved the beating up that Max had instilled upon them. The boy had a freaking tail, from what Eris had heard from Max in the common room. Only dogs and cats were allowed to have tails. Not 11 year old boys. That was just gross.

Turning away from the hufflepuff girl, and looking at Rhea, trying to focus her attention on the Gryffindor girl completely, not even bothering to look at the strange addition to their group, who should be leaving at this point, Eris finally spoke. “What do you have to tell us?” Eris asked, eyes darting around their little group, scanning their faces.

Max and Dorian were two of her closest friends, along with Rhea and Sabrina, who hadn’t shown up. There was also Rosie, who Eris had talked to once. She seemed to be a sweet girl, not like some of the other hufflepuffs that Max seemed to really hate. Time would tell. “Lumos is a fine spell, and last time I checked you didn’t have night vision, Hulk Smash jr.” Eris laughed at Dorian, shaking her head in retaliation.

“Groups it is. Max, Dorian, Rhea, Rosie, whoever wants to come with me, come, but first..let’s get down a torch, if we can. If not, poor Dorian will realize that Lumos isn't a lame spell." Eris pointed towards the torch that one of the taller gryffindor boys had gotten down, still looking around the base camp. There was a hallway towards the left, near Rhea’s sleeping bag, along with a torch two beds away from Rosie’s.

“Obviously, I can’t reach the torch. So, I guess, I’ll just start walking and anyone that wants to follow can. Please do, I actually really wouldn’t like to be alone.” Eris said with a slight attempt at a laugh, swallowing down any fear of the dark, as she strutted forward, determined to show the hufflepuff girl just how brave and daring Gryffindors were.

With that the girl tried to cast lumos, and took off into the darkness.

ACTIONS:
TALK TO GROUP, ATTEMPT TO CAST LUMOS, LEAD GROUP INTO THE LEFT PASSAGE

MENTIONS: ANATOLE EVANS, DOROTHY DO, ERIS FAWLEY, MAX AVERY

[FONT=Palatino Linotype] And thus, people started crowding. Rosie thankfully got her sleeping bag down and situated, she slept around some of her best friends. But speaking of that, where was her best friend? She spotted him talking to a few Huflepuff, and felt a little bad she didn't go find him, but he seemed find. When Anatole looked like he was gonna look in her direction, she flashed a small grin and waved, instantly feeling more happier.

She turned back when Eris said her name, and fully understanding the context of the sentence, she frowned a little. What was so wrong with Hufflepuffs. She felt herself feel get a little protective, and almost said something to Eris, but held back. It wasn't the time. But then it got worse when Dorothy called out Max on something, and Eris retorted back a bit harshly. She didn't really like the tough guy group, but these were her friends. Instead, Rosie took the first move, and stepped between Eris and Dorothy, frowning. "Hey, no punching, yeah? This is supposed to be a fun time, let's not ruin it with some petty violence over something that doesn't matter. I'm sure Dorothy didn't mean it." She said, cautiously, almost like she was scared something would blow up. Suddenly, grouping with Anatole sounded a bit better.

No! She was strong. Rosie didn't need him all the time, she could handle it. She stood her ground and watched the tensity slowly leave the air, and Rosie let out a breath. They started talking again, and Rosie honestly just wanted to get away and start moving as soon as possible. With one more fleeting look to Anatole's group, she looked back to Eris offering for people to go with her. "I-I'm coming!" She called, running after her and watching her try to cast Lumos. She had decided to accompany Eris, and whoever also decided to come.

ACTION: FOLLOW ERIS INTO LEFT PASSAGE

Riddles and logic puzzles were meant for Ravenclaw students, not a Hufflepuff and Gryffindor combination. This was not exactly Duncan's cup of tea. He listened as others gave ideas about what to do or say to the door but it seemed others really wanted to tell their darkest secrets before trying the simpler option. The young lad was not the most studious one in the school but he felt confident enough to try the easier answer first. Instead of waiting for them to find a deep secret to tell, he spoke up.

"A Secret!" The Irish boy yelled to the door loudly, ignoring the plotting of his new friends. "That's the password, door."

He then turned to his companions and gave a weak smile. Duncan wanted to get through without revealing too much personal info if he could. As much as it would be good gossip, he didn't need to hear it from the others either. This would either work, or they'd have to actually tell a secret. It was better this way as far as Duncan O'Hara was concerned.

"Maybe we can save ourselves some embarrassment," he defended himself more shyly now that he had said his piece to the door. "If not, we can try diving into more juicy secrets."

In his head, the boy wondered what secrets he even had. There were a few things people didn't know well but probably not considered super secret. A few ideas came to mind as he watched the door to see if it would open, and watched his new friends to see what they did in response. Fingers crossed, he took another cookie and ate it.

Shouted 'A Secret' to the door. Ate a Cookie.

Lucy smiled at Parcel's reasoning since it was similar to her own. She was glad that someone else confirmed her own suspicions, and it made her more willing to share a secret now that she knew that it wasn't just a random shot in the dark. Was this riddle put in place by Professor Lear? If so, it really could be quite simple. She was hesitant to start spewing secrets before trying the most obvious answer first.

She shared a smile with Winifrey until she noticed Winifrey peering through the gap in the door. From where Lucy stood, she couldn't see much. She did notice the door was slightly open, and... did she hear someone speaking in there? She strained her ears, but she couldn't truly hear anything over the roar of the waterfall.

"But, if the door does open and there really is a nest, we should probably be prepared," Winifrey said, snapping Lucy out of her reverie.

Lucy's eyes widened, realizing that she might have to fight off an angry momma bird. Well, she assumed it was a bird. There was a nest, after all. Winfrey's suggestion reminded her of her own mother. I'll go Mama Bear on them if I have to, her mother always said. Mothers viciously protected their young. 

"I'm not sure Curse of the Bogies would do much on an angry animal," Lucy attempted to joke, suddenly a bit less eager to get through the door. "Still, Professor Lear set this up. He wouldn't try to harm us." Even as she said that she thought of the rumours about the last campout. A strong feeling of dread stirred in her gut. "But, just in case, everyone try and think of a defensive spell that you could use. Or... some other means of defence. Good idea, Winifrey," Lucy beamed at the girl, encouraged by her foresight.

Suddenly a loud yell exploded next to her. "A Secret!" screamed the redhead, and Lucy gasped sharply. Her fellow Hufflepuff had almost given her a heart attack - AGAIN. 

She whipped her head around sharply, fixing him with a glare. "You scared me to death! Besides, whatever might be in there - if there is something in there - might have heard you!" she chided, still too panicked after thinking about an unknown angry mama beast to realize there was no immediate threat. "If you're going to be the death of me, I want to know your name so I know who to come back and haunt," she hissed, realising she didn't know his name since he had chosen to scream rather than introduce himself. Lucy paused as he explained his actions, drawing in a steadying breath. "Anyway, I'm glad you tried that first. Thanks, I guess. ...I would have felt stupid if we went for the more complicated option and that was the answer all along." Lucy tried to soften her tone as she got over her fright, realizing that she had spoken quite sharply in the beginning. She didn't mean to snap at the boy - in fact, she realized that was the first time all year that she lost her cool at someone other than herself.

She attempted to move past the tense moment. "But just in case..." Lucy bit her lip, anxiety stirring her stomach. She didn't have many secrets, and the ones she did keep were ones that she wasn't eager to share with these new acquaintances. If she kept secrets, it was because they were shameful in some way. Other than that, Lucy was pretty much an open book. Just do it. You'll be fine. She took a final breath and turned to the door and clearly stated her secret. "My secret is that I judge Ravenclaw students harsher than others because I'm jealous that I wasn't smart enough to make it into that house." Lucy hung her head, toeing the cobblestone beneath her feet. She didn't dare look at the others.

Reminder of actions from previous post (page 3):
Speaking: Suggest to the group that the password might be a secret that they have never told anyone before.
Movement: Move up one square to stand next to Parcel's right side, immediately in the square next to him and in front of the door.
Spell: Attempt to cast Lumos (again)

ACTIONS

Speaking: Now that Duncan has attempted the password, "A secret," Lucy tells the door her own secret just in case. Her secret that she has never shared before this post is, "I judge Ravenclaw students harsher than others because I'm jealous that I wasn't smart enough to make it into that house."

♦ Responding to Eris Fawley, Dorian Gray, Rosie Parker, Rhea Bishop, Alan Vanes, Dorothy Do ♦

The nerve on the silly little Hufflepuff girl. To go from being worried to accusatory in the span of a few seconds, and at someone who'd put another kid in a hospital no less. She wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, now was she? Max let an almost painful silence stretch out without answering her question or responding to her - he had a knack for ignoring Hufflepuffs. And verbally turning them to dust, though causing conflict in a situation where people were to work together simply wouldn't do.

He forced himself to focus on Rhea instead, wondering how to explain the complications between Rosie and himself. There wasn't much to say, and the subject was changed before anyone had to pipe up with a reason. Three groups sounded like a plan to him - one should be this Dorothy Do all by herself, and hopefully she didn't know Lumos so that she'd fall in the dark and severely injure herself. He would be content to stay with his friends, and at that thought he turned a grin on Dorian that mirrored the other boy's mischief. Yeah, he'd been busy getting into fights with yellows. Grabbing Dorian and Eris to help him with the obligatory beating them up if they got too whiny sounded like a plan.

As the group grew to include another smaller, nervous looking Gryffindor in the form of some Alan kid, Max's mind kicked into overdrive. There were so many of them now and if they split up into groups that were close enough to communicate through yelling, they'd be able to cover a lot of ground. Everyone could be useful, if he was being honest with himself. Dorian and Rhea knew the spells, Eris could punch, Alan was small enough to get into tight spaces, Rosie was spunky (even he had to admit that), and Dorothy...

A small smile grew on his face as he looked her up and down critically. Of course. Every group needed someone disposable. If she was as dumb as she was acting, they could use her for monster food. Everyone else in the group was either his friend or someone he might be vaguely sad about seeing get hurt (his feelings on Rosie were always mixed and he bored no ill will towards Alan), but he'd have no qualms about tripping her if they all had to run away so that she could be used as bait. Testing for traps, too - if Eris hadn't taken the lead with an echo of her previous leadership she'd had as a prefect, he might've urged Dorothy to.

As it was, she could still walk ahead if they went anywhere dangerous. "It's okay, we won't be punching anyone," Max said sweetly with a smile at Dorothy that held more teeth than necessary. With glances to take in both her and Alan, he greeted them with a warm-ish, "My name is Max Avery and I don't plan on hurting anyone during this trip. I hope we can all get along." He gave Dorian a very measured, specific look that asked his friend to play along, if only until the crap hit the fan. Eris was already walking ahead but he'd have to find a way to get the message to her too. Dissension in the ranks would make an already tense situation worse, and they didn't need infighting. Yet.

A quick glance around told him the torches had already been taken, meaning the main room would soon be left in yet more darkness. Already areas were starting to dim as flickering torchlight was disappearing down halls, and the muted darkness of the stone walls did nothing to improve the lighting situation. Lumos may be a spell without much practical use in the outside, sunny world, but here it would do a world of good. Even Periculum would be better to use than something as dangerous as Flipendo or Incendio, which could accidentally hit one of your peers if you couldn't see well.

Sliding one hand into his robes to curl his fingers in a tight grip around his wand, he smiled tightly at Dorian and Rhea. He was about to follow Rosie Parker in a situation with hundreds of unknowns, and his best weapon perhaps would be his wits. It was natural to feel uneasy. It was just... "Does anyone get the feeling that - " He paused, unable to put it into words. An intense feeling that something was off. It wasn't the Gryffindor prefect being put in a dress, or even the fact that he'd briefly seen Reid Kovacs and that always meant some disaster was abound. There was something he couldn't root out of his subconscious, like he'd missed a vital fact and it would come back to haunt him later.

Shaking his head and wetting his lips, he decided that the only thing he could do was follow his friends and hope that whatever was bothering him would eventually surface into consciousness. "Let's just be cautious," he muttered in a subdued manner, maintaining his white-knuckled grip as he followed after Eris and Rosie.

ACTION: Follow Eris and Rosie into the left passage.

Keep pace next to Max as they follow Eris and Rosie into the left passage. Whisper the secret words [a lost fah vodahmin] to Max in hopes that the boy would have some thoughts. Focus on maintaining his cast of Lumos.

"But, if the door does open and there really is a nest, we should probably be prepared,"

“… try and think of a defensive spell that you could use. Or... some other means of defence. Good idea, Winifrey,"

Both girls seemed almost certain that there was trouble ahead. Parcel on the other hand wasn’t so sure. Would a professor really set out traps that could hurt them? Well, it was a nest, and professor Lear was the magical creature professor, so he might have had a hand in it. But even if he had, would Gryffindor’s head of house accept it being dangers there? He would protect his students from professor Lear’s murderous tendencies… right? Thinking back to what he remembered of the professor from history of magic, and from the tag game, and really any other time he has ever seen the guy… made Parcel become even more unsure. Did the head of Gryffindor even care about his students? He could imagine professor Lear scribbling down his menacing plans for the campout and where to put the fire for maximum effect all while laughing evilly up into the night sky. And while Lear was doing that professor Cazarez would probably… like, talk Spanglish? Or ignore a puppy in peril? Something like that.
He might even sit down and join Lear in his dark planning, and when they were done with the death traps he would laugh Spanglish’ly out in the dark sky above… Because Parcel assumed he did most of his natural activities in the dark, where less people could notice him.

Parcel swallowed nervously as he came to the realization that he really didn’t trust any of the professors they had following them on this lock-in. But, then again, it might be nothing. He had learned from his father, that worked in the muggle liaison office, about a muggle tradition where they hid candy inside eggs, and then the children would run around finding the eggs and eat candy for a week. Going by that logic then there might just be candy eggs they had put out for the children.

Before Parcel had time to tell anybody about his candy egg theory, the other boy shouted out.

"A Secret!"

Turning his head back to look at Duncan, Parcel giggled a bit as the boy seemed to scare Lucy. Duncan really had a gift for scaring the girl it seemed.
He only had time to turn his head back to look at the door before Lucy put in her five cents to the puzzle too.

"My secret is that I judge Ravenclaw students harsher than others because I'm jealous that I wasn't smart enough to make it into that house."

Now they really had covered all their theories! Looking over to Lucy he was about to complement her when he noticed how dejected she looked. She almost looked sad. Why would the puzzle make Lucy feel that way? Was this what the professors had planned? To secretly chip down on one’s self-esteem until we were too embarrassed to show our face in public?

Parcel clicked his tongue as he looked back at the door. He didn’t know if it would have any extra effect on the door, but he thought that if he didn’t want Lucy to go around being sad then he too would have to tell a secret. If for nothing else, then it would be bad if Lucy didn’t concentrate and maybe passed a treasure without noticing it.
But what secrets did Parcel have? Was there anything in particular he was hiding? He was after all only 11, so the list wasn’t a long one. And his deep dark secrets would probably not count as too dark when he grew older, but what was his deep dark secret? He didn’t like his name? Perhaps that would work? But it wasn’t really a secret, and he didn’t really hide it or anything… then… then it would have to be that other thing…

gulping down nervously Parcel could feel his ears become visibly redder. He had one other secret he never wanted to tell anyone, but in Parcel’s mind it was a bad one. He really didn’t want anyone to look at him differently after he divulged it.
“Sometimes when a girl like… touches my arm or something, instead of recoiling back in fear I actually become a bit happy and feel like I have butterflies in my stomach…”
This time it was he that didn’t want to look at anyone. It was especially awkward because there were two girls beside him, and he didn’t want to be know as a pervert or something.

Fixing his gaze on the door Parcel started to get ready for it to open, oh gosh he really hoped it would open, if they had divulged secrets without it working then he would feel really stupid.
Trying to keep the embarrassing secret away from his mind Parcel instead focused all his attention on the door. If it actually opened then he would have to pick up on anything of interest as fast as possible, and if it didn’t open then he would have to try and come up with a better solution for the riddle.

Action: Divulge a secret to the door.
and Perception check on whatever happens.