Duck! PV Reopened

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Procoppio was howling with laughter, and Ruby felt rage deeper than she had ever felt before. Not only was this transfiguration embarrassing, it also meant that she had no control. No bodily autonomy. And they were laughing. She wanted to wipe the smile off Procoppio’s face—no, she wanted to make sure the stupid, infuriating Hufflepuff would never laugh again. How dare she laugh at this? How dare she genuinely think this was some kind of funny joke when she was trapped in a form unable to talk, with no control over what happened to her?

The thought that she might be stuck like this permanently popped into her head, and she felt a flash of panic. No. Someone will figure it out. One of my friends will find me and realize. But what if Procoppio and Quinn trapped her? What if they kept her like this? The professors are smart, they would be able to find me using magic. And surely Astrea isn’t so cruel as to let that happen? The Slytherins weren’t more than acquaintances, but they certainly weren’t enemies. Surely she wouldn’t be complacent in something as extreme as semi-permanent human transfiguration? Procoppio wasn’t helping the anxiety as she talked to Astrea, claiming that this was “deserved”. It wasn’t deserved. How could this be deserved? She hadn’t even done anything, she had just been trying to go to the library.

And then Procoppio started moving towards her with her jacket in hand, telling Quinn to not let the Slytherin-duck pass. She ran around, flapping her wings, trying to get away from both of them, but eventually Procoppio caught her, picking her up and raising her into the air. She was at a loss for words—even if she could have spoken, no words would have been able to properly convey the complete rage she felt. If this is karma for the bad things I’ve done, I’ll work on becoming a nicer person, I swear. Just make this stop. Procoppio laughed again, with a “isn’t this silly?”, sparking violent urges stronger than any urge Ruby had ever known. She would find some way to make her pay. Procoppio was the worst of the worst, and she deserved only misfortune and suffering after this. It was unforgivable. Ruby would find a way to make the rest of Procoppio’s time at Hogwarts complete hell, no matter what.

Procoppio handed her off to Astrea, and after some flaps of protest—how could Astrea want to participate and trap Ruby like this?—she eventually settled. At least Astrea offered protection from the lurking cats, and she didn’t seem entertained by Ruby’s situation. There was also something about being held by such a pretty girl that would’ve made Ruby blush had she not been in duck form, but that was irrelevant. Astrea spoke disapprovingly to Procoppio and Quinn, giving Ruby some hope that she would be released and untransfigured. Quinn accused Ruby of starting it—how could she have possibly started this?—and was rewarded with an angry quack of disagreement.

It was at this point that Koko rounded the corner. Yes! This was her chance. She watched as her friend looked suspiciously at Ruby’s bag, and then looked around. Koko began asking after Ruby and she did everything she could to get her friend to be suspicious. She flapped her wings, squawking and making as direct eye contact with Koko as she could when her name was said. Her wings were undoubtedly getting in Astrea’s face, but too bad. If the girl wanted to help, she would tell Koko the truth immediately or let Ruby go. And if she wanted to just hold onto her and cover for Procoppio and Quinn? Well, Ruby’s opinion of her would turn sour and be solidified, and she wouldn’t be forgiven.

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Jiminy crickets and butter my biscuit, it was a prefect, AKA the absolute last thing Ami needed in this particular moment of her life. Luckily, however, the prefect in question was a former coworker of hers from the Headliner, one that she had worked closely with on an article or two, if she remembered correctly. "Well knock me over with a feather and call me a speedbump if it isn't Koko Riddle herself!" Ami exclaimed with a wide grin. "No Ruby, just a duck we found out on the lake. Don't mind my twin here, just giving her a tour of the school." Ami elbowed CecAmi (Amily?) rather aggressively, before bursting out into a forced shower of giggles. "Nah just joshin' ya, it's just good ol' Cecily here. I'll let you know if we see a short, brunette Slytherin around these parts, but I'm just gonna assume you'll find her before we do. Oh! And yes, speaking of introductions...

"Cecily, this is Astrea, she's a Slytherin a year below us. Koko, Cecily looks like me because she's a freaky young gal. Cecily, we know Koko. And this is uh..." Ami's gaze fell to the fowl Ruby cradled in Astrea's arms, barely keeping a frown from creeping over her face. Not that she hated all humans who had been transfigured into ducks, nor ever all ducks, but she just had quite the strong disliking for this particular human. "This is Ronald. The duck. Who we found outside. Don't tell anyone though, we're just gonna give him a little bath before we release him to be with his fellow duckies."

However, Ruby (the duck) kept squawking and causing a ruckus, which was certifiably not good for them. She was about to blow their cover, for cripes sake! "Ronald," Ami said sternly, her strict glare laced with just the lightest bit of malice, "If you don't keep it together, you will not be getting any rubber duckies with your bath today. Now behave before I put you in teapot timeout."

threading as astrea edith soleil neptune-chou iii
opinion increasingly disapproving

She gave them the heebie-jeebies.

Between her isolationist tendencies, reticent nature and the rather... unorthodox situation she had unwittingly found herself in, this surely took the crown as the strangest human interaction Astrea had ever the displeasure of participating in. Not that Astrea had experienced much in the first place, well-fortuned or not... In any case, her unimpressed disregard for both the false Ami and the rapidly devolving situation made it clear that she was unwilling to believe any words from a stranger masquerading in another's identity, least of all one bizarrely described as a 'freaky young gal'. Rather luckily for Astrea's opinion of Cecily, their one-sided confrontation would be further joined by her fellow Slytherin bearing an unmistakable prefect badge and an unfamiliar bookbag.

Scarcely able to greet the blonde, Astrea could only silently endure the uncomfortable, highly hazardous experience of bird wrangling. Worsened by sheer proximity, the indignity of renewed animal rebellion soundly drowned out all but Ami's loud 'explanations'. If Hogwarts' eldest ranks boasted this much foolishness for their esteemed reputation, Astrea dreaded the school's current state of affairs. Now, she was not one to openly advocate for deception (least of all so poorly) but the mere controversy of Ami giving campus tours to one of her peers— a seventh-year who surely would know much more than any guide could provide— could have made even a pacifist question their beliefs. There were surely sounder arguments. There were surely cleverer alternatives than Ronald the wild duck as well— Had the Scottish air, over-steeped tea fumes and lingering magical adrenaline clouded the redhead's sense of logic so thoroughly that even names escaped her? Ami had helpfully introduced all participants just before her lapse(?) in memory, so perhaps it was simply Ruby who was once more the object of derision. If this was another element of the inside joke that 'Cecily' and Ami had constructed, Astrea had yet to be informed of its hilarity.

Quite adverse to further personal harm and in the presence of appropriate authority, she wisely took Ruby's cue to set down the unwillingly transfigured bird. Prettily dressed and holding it at arm's length as Astrea was, however, gently relinquishing poor Ruby was no easy matter. Yet if her seniors' behaviour were to be believed, the alternative expectation was to simply drop the poor duck. Unfortunately for Ami and Cecily, Astrea possessed too much regrettably held pity and self-preservation to continue antagonising a prospective future duelling partner, even unintentionally. It would do neither her nor Ruby any good to sow discontent amongst the Vipers this late into their academic careers. What's more, it seemed that her initial cat-based concerns for her yearmates' wellbeing were unfounded, as even a ducklifor'd Ruby was evidently able to fend for herself. For Astrea's part, she was equally inclined to avoid further contact with the other's apparently sharp beak and flapping limbs. The further she and her excitable feline companions were from becoming collateral damage, the better.

Yet one singular factor remained prominently puzzling: How, in all of her precious solitude, had Astrea made such unusual acquaintances? Nay, the most unsettling aspect was the completeness of her initial innocence. Previously far removed from the evident tension between all involved parties, Astrea could have never predicted her unwitting participation in such bullying. If anything, it was the fault of her loyal Orpheus, who had only grown similarly unamused and increasingly skittish upon pitying inspection. He, second only to Ruby herself, was likely the unluckiest victim of them all. Rather unfortunately for Astrea herself, her mere existence amid the crime scene near-contractually obligated her to interfere, if not by house solidarity then by blood loyalty alone.

"Neither the castle nor a bathtub is quite appropriate for wild ducks, least of all ones of this nature." Forgive her complete lack of reference for 'rubber duckies', 'speedbumps' or what 'joshing' entailed, but if any of the three described their current circumstances then Astrea would not have any of it. Primly smoothing her skirts from stray feathers and the invisible lint of remnant magic, she could no longer be a beacon of complete impartiality in this storm of ridicule. "A simple reparifarge would likely be more suitable." Its alternative of 'teapot timeout' only seemed like a criminal waste of both tea and slighted tempers.

Pausing briefly in her formal denunciation, Astrea assessed both Koko's obvious familiarity with Ruby and the two Ami's contrasting antagonism. The contrast was startling. What was even more startling was the recognition that with this crowd, subtlety could achieve very little. “If it is Ruby you seek, you have found her— no thanks to these two." How disheartening it was for Astrea— the junior of her apparently 'kinder' and cleverer peers— to be the honest hand of judgment. She, turning her head deliberately away from her potential suitor, could not bring herself to cast any more favoured attention towards an unworthy recipient. It was no longer a matter of mere social sparring, not when both Ruby and Astrea's reputation and morality were at stake. If Ami desired to fulfil any role further than acquaintanceship, it would not be achieved by brazenly mocking one of Slytherin's own without reasonable explanation.

She had nothing else to give.

trunk information found here
orpheus reference found here

Although some might consider the rapid evolution of the afternoon -- a Prefect entering the situation in search of the very human subject they had very recently transfigured into the angry, screaming duck standing right at their feet -- to be a difficult scenario to escape from. However, if there's one thing Cecily had complete confidence in, it was her dear friend Ami's ability to gaslight the hell out of anyone and anything. A strong (albeit unreliable) claim to deniability combined with a teensy white lie just outrageous enough to seem the truth seemed to be Ami's strategy, and Cecily was full in support. And plus, Cecily found herself deeply disappointed in, from what she could tell, all Slytherins' lack of committment to any bit. That seemed justification enough to fully lean into the (mostly) harmless prank.

"I don't think I've ever met a Ruby before in my life, actually," Cecily loudly claimed with incredible confidence. Too far in the wrong direction? Perhaps, but she couldn't possibly be held responsible for the disappearance of a student she'd never even seen before. How would they prove it? After all, the only suspicious object here was Ronald the duck, who was, of course, a wild duck that Cecily and Ami were going to pamper out of the kindness in their hearts. Even a duck could enjoy a spa day every once in a while, right? And it seemed like Ronald here really needed to destress with a relaxing bubble bath. Never before had Cecily seen a completely normal, definitely wild duck so high-strung. "And besides, who are we to speak for the ducks? Maybe Ronald will love his bubble bath. One way to find out!"

Perhaps Koko had never been the most discerning individual, but she listened to Ami's every word and took each one at face value until the American admitted to 'joshing' her. The soft smile on Koko's lips slowly faded as she put two and two together — Ami the second was Cecily, apparently, and the only Cecily Koko knew was Ravenclaw Quidditch Cecily. Koko didn't quite understand what 'freaky young gal' was meant to entail, but she just nodded, returning her gaze to the fluffy little duck in Astrea's arms. Astrea herself was not a person Koko had obtained the pleasure of getting to know well, but there was a strange duality about her. Koko almost wanted to inch closer, to observe, to ask how the other Slytherin maintained such a pristine appearance — Koko numbly brought a hand to her cheek, where her freckles were rather evident, and she frowned. However, as drop-dead gorgeous as Astrea was, Koko kept her distance. Call her a coward (which was likely true), but even though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, something about Astrea felt off.

A small shiver ran down her spine, and she averted her gaze, instead raising an eyebrow at Ami's deluge of information about the duck. 'Er, okay,' Koko said blandly. 'But... Ronald looks rather clean, no? I don't really see the point... but whatever, to each their own...' She let herself trail off, her soft voice full of uncertainty. She'd never meant to get involved in whatever shenanigans these girls were getting up to; Koko had spent her fifth year alone and, for the most part, safe, and she intended to remain that way.

Each thing that came out of Ami's mouth was more absurd than the last, and as much as Koko just wanted to take Ruby's bag back to the dorms, morbid curiosity kept her feet rooted to the ground. 'I'm... sorry?' she muttered, utterly confused. A small pang caused a tug of pain in her chest as she stared at the poor duck. 'Can't you just let him go? That would be kinder.'

Short-Ami AKA Cecily's words were hardly believable, even for someone as gullible (...gull-ible?) as Koko. Ruby and Cecily had both played Quidditch; surely, they would have been aware of the other's existence. And, even more, weren't they both editors for the Headliner, too? Koko's confusion would be evident in her expression — her eyebrows drew closer together, and her amber eyes narrowed as she stared at the Cecily That Was Not Cecily. 'See, what I don't understand is why you feel the need to lie,' Koko said tentatively, not wanting to come across too harshly. 'And, honestly, I don't think it should need to be said, but bubble baths are probably not good for ducks.'

She was saved from potentially embarrassing herself further by Astrea, who did seem to agree with her protesting about the duck's bath. Sometimes, Koko was right about things, after all, and this certainly did seem to be one of those times. However, when Astrea mentioned reparifarge, Koko's confused expression only soured further. A heavy, cold sense of dread sat in her stomach like a large boulder, and she glanced from Astrea to Ami to not-Ami to the duck in Astrea's arms. Then, she looked down at Ruby's bag.

Oh, no, they didn't. They couldn't have.

For once, the young Slytherin's amber gaze was cold when she returned it to the Amis. She barely heard Astrea's voice confirming her suspicions; subconsciously, she registered the admission of truth, but the pounding of her heart in her ears drowned out any more logic she might have otherwise been able to handle. What was worse was that she'd even liked Ami and Cecily — at least, they'd had favourable interactions before. She'd even found Ami funny when they'd collaborated on the Headliner. But, this? This? Transfiguring one of Koko's oldest and dearest friends into a duck, presumably without her consent, and hiding the fact?

Koko swallowed and blinked back the tears that had, unbeknownst to her, begun to form. The words didn't want to make themselves into sentences; she opened her mouth, but nothing came out as she just stared at the belligerents. Her knuckles whitened against the bags in her hands. Finally, she managed to spit out, 'What the actual fuck.'

She hesitated before continuing, aghast. Having worked to be a paragon of kindness and compassion, Koko very rarely swore, let alone something that vulgar. She hadn't meant for it to come out like that. The thrum of her heartbeat quickened, and she directed her now-blurry gaze to Ruby once again. She had to adjust her grip on the bags due to her palms growing clammy. She stepped towards Ami, once again swallowing, this time due to the height difference. If there was a fight, she would lose; there was no question about that. And Koko didn't get into fights, anyway, what was she doing, what...

'I thought you were actually decent fucking people,' Koko muttered, once again surprising herself with colourful language. She looked from Ami, to Cecily, to Ami again, and grit her teeth. 'Leave her alone.'

Wow, so she really could stand up for others. It wasn't something she'd be doing often, but Ruby was someone she'd known for years. Plus, studying with Ruby always made Koko feel as if she'd actually learned something, which... right. There was Untransfiguration to be done.

Koko turned back to Astrea and took out her wand. 'Careful. Don't hurt her.' Then, she incanted, 'Reparifarge,' half expecting it not to work. d20: 19 + 6 = 25! good job koko you don't suck!!

Should Ruby not be wishing for immediate revenge, upon having her friend back in a human form, Koko would attempt to get the two of them out of this sticky situation. 'Come on, Rubes, I've got some Transfiguration questions to ask you.'

@Cecily Quinn · @Ruby Cazares · @Ami Procoppio · @Astrea Soleil Neptune

attempting to leave the thread (feel free to stop me).