Rituals and Hags PV Dealla Prince

Jack clasped a hand to his face. Since their dorm had become a Gender-Neutral Dorm, he had been thinking about how Dealla could go there as a girl, not as a student from another house. That was a whole other can of worms. "Maybe...we can get Tone to spy in your place? And he can run and tell you when Marion shows up?" They seemed to be good friends from what Hanako had told him.

"That's true," he groaned. He guessed the doll Marion had given him and the stone thing wouldn't have worked as proof either since there was also no way to link those to Marion. A teacher being there to witness Marion claiming her payment was the only thing he could think of to convince the adults - if even that would work.

"I didn't want you to refuse, I just didn't think you'd accept. But you're right. And that makes sense," he agreed to her comments about going halfway and this being the best shot they had. "Thank you for your help, Prince." He told her seriously. "It means a lot to have your help in this. I'll do my best not to betray that trust of yours or let you down." It seemed that suddenly a lot more was riding on this than just Flash being cured.

He chuckled a little when Dealla mentioned she could deliver her line convincingly. "Okay, Professer Iwasaki is a good bet, then," Jack said, mentally committing him to memory. "The only other person I can think of is Professor Jensen since Marion and Flash and Opeila and I are all technically her responsibility, but we're not sure she can be trusted. I can ask Opeila if she knows of any other adult she might think we can trust to tell about this."

@Dealla Prince

"You didn't think I'd accept, but you asked anyway?" Dee asked, curious, then quieted at his following words. It wasn't a promise, but they'd both agreed they preferred not to make empty promises, and what more could she ask than that he'd do his best? Jack sounded earnest, and she didn't know what else to say to that, so she just nodded, the joking mood gone. It wasn't a joking matter, it was serious, and while she'd been aware of this, had known for more than half a year, the realisation only really seemed to hit then, settling heavy in her stomach.

There were so many ways this could go wrong, but all they could do was do their best to ensure it didn't.

Which included being smart about this. "Okay, so we plan when exactly you complete the ritual so I can time it and get Professor Iwasaki down to check on you at the right time," she repeated. "Jensen as a backup plan if I can't find Iwasaki." She didn't really know the woman, but she was one of Hogwarts' more stable staff members, who had been here longer then Dee had.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she paused, frowning. "You think they'll confiscate the ritual stuff if Marion's not there? Would that be a problem? Although... if they do and she goes to get it, that would be another opportunity to reveal what she is, right?"

@Jack Burnett

"I didn't know if you could say you trusted me, let alone that you would accept," he confessed. "I just thought it was worth a try."

Jack nodded in agreement with Dealla's statement that they plan when he completed the ritual so everything could be timed properly. That was what it all came down to in the end - timing. Jensen as a backup for Iwasaki sounded reasonable. But then Dee brought up something else.

"If the ritual is completed, I don't think it'll matter if they confiscate the stuff afterward," he said. "And that's another good point. If they catch her trying to go after the things, it'll just be further proof we're right about her."

He thought back to Opeila's fear that something bad might happen to her if Jack used her blood for the ritual. If that was the case and Dealla's blood was used as well, that meant no one would be left to go fetch the teachers by the time the ritual was complete.

"Prince...do you think we should put measures into place ahead of time? Just in case?" Jack asked. "Like sending an owl early and asking that the letter not be opened until a specific date and time? Or asking Tone to be a backup and call on the first adult he can find if you can't?"

@Dealla Prince

Staring down at her cup of water, Dee had to admit that Jack's worry that she would say no wasn't unfounded. If the situation were a little different she might as well have laughed in his face and refused, and she wasn't entirely sure how or when she had let herself get dragged into this so deeply. Perhaps her instincts of self-preservation were malfunctioning after the repeated dangers she'd been exposed to over the years. But then, what she'd said was also the truth; if they just let Marion do whatever she wanted, sooner or later they would all be screwed, anyway. Better to do something about it when they had the chance.

The thought that, even if they mistimed it and didn't manage to have Marion and a professor around at the same time, not all was lost as long as they had erred on the side of caution was a comforting one. Having everything hinge on one moment was a pleasant thrill on the duelling stage, not so much here.

Which was exactly why backup plans were likely a good idea as well, and she nodded at Jack's suggestion. "I don't think I'd send a letter early... if I got a letter that sounded as suspicious as that I'd open it immediately. But asking Hanako is a good idea, and would be much faster than sending him to me so I can get a professor. Not sure about you, but I think the less time you have to stall Marion, the better."

She sighed and took another sip of water. "So, summarising: We time it so I show up with a professor when you finish the ritual. If she comes immediately, that should make for a pretty convincing scene." She swallowed, trying to keep the anxious feeling in her stomach in check. "If, for any reason, I can't, or she does not come immediately, ask Hana to keep an eye out and run to fetch an adult when she does show up. If a professor confiscates the stuff, we hope that she tries to get it back and try again then." Setting down the cup, she pushed her plate away. She was done with dinner, and had things to do - like figure out how to get Jack half a pint of blood. Too bad she was too young to donate blood the muggle way, and she somehow doubted approaching the nurse and asking him to take some blood from her that she needed for unspecified reasons would work. "Did I forget anything?"

@Jack Burnett

"Alright then," Jack said when Dealla approved the idea of asking Hanako. "And yeah...definitely the less time I have to stall her, the better. I'd rather not try to keep her there longer than I have to." The last time had turned out rather awkward when he'd immobilized her and she'd laughed.

He nodded along with each step of the plan as Dee summarized it, committing each to memory as best he could. "No, I think that about sums everything up," the Slytherin stated decisively when the Ravenclaw asked if she forgot anything. "I'll let Tone know, then. Maybe not too soon since I want to give Winters at least a month to collect her blood - and you too, of course. I'm thinking after summer break might be the time to set everything in motion. Especially because that'll give me more time to find the other ingredient I need, which will probably be even more tricky than the blood."

He still had very little idea as to how he was supposed to get a scream of terror, especially after his last attempt had ended so badly. At least there was still time, though. "Best of luck to both of us."

@Dealla Prince