depths of midnight PV pericles Closed

@Arianna Swann

Pericles was not a known rule breaker. In his five year at Hogwarts, he had never had detention, and even served at a prefect for a while. Evidently he had decided now was the time to cash in on his good reputation. He was not only an unlikely suspect, but he was older with the talent, means, and motive to possibly pull this off. Altogether, it might even be enough to get away with breaking into the Restricted Section.

The scheme started in his room. Waiting until the Steppe Eagle dormitory was silent save the gentle snoring of his peers, Pericles slipped from his bed and snuck to his trunk, stealing away with a potion vial and pair of boots . Once he was halfway down the spiral stairs, he took aim at the latter. "Quietus." He tugged them on, knotted the laces, and gave an experimental jump. The bottom of his boots hardly made a sound. Smirking in satisfaction, all that was left to do next was knock back that potion of invisibility and navigate Hogwarts. Peri remembered prefect patrol routes, and though some had changed since his resignation, he used what he knew to his advantage. Silent and see-through, he kept to the shadows as he worked his way through the castle and into the depths of the library.

"Alohomora." The spell sizzled out against the lock, but he wasn't worried. He'd assumed a standard level Unlocking Charm wouldn't work on a door secured by Hogwarts staff. But maybe, his locksmith's knife would work its mundane charm on the gate.... At least, that's what he thought, until the thing was practically ejected. It flew from his hands and clattered across the wooden floor. A soft swear was hissed through his teeth. He had more tricks up his sleeve, but before he could enact them, Pericles was jolted by the distant creak of a door. Someone must have heard his knife. Scowling, he slunk away from the Restricted gate, hoping his Quietus enchantment held up. The invisible boy heard a pair of voices and spotted a flicker of candlelight. He moved carefully behind the bookshelves, hand curled in a fist around his wand, until he spotted her: just a little witch roaming around in a nightgown. This wasn't a prefect at all, and judging from the looks of her, she was one of the younger years. She wasn't supposed to be here either.

There was a dark stretch in which Pericles contemplated saying nothing. The girl had chatted with a portrait and wandered here with a beacon in her hands, sure to lure prefects, or worse. His thoughts were uncharacteristically uncharitable: he could hide out, hope his potion held up until she was found, which would surely be sooner than later. Someone else being here, in the wrong place at the wrong time, was a disruption to his plan. He didn't deserve to have his hard work go to waste over a stranger, right? Right...? Maybe it was old habits refusing to burn out. Maybe it was a moment of clarity, where his morals and rationality clicked back into place. Whatever inspired him, after a few seconds of peering through bookshelves and deliberating leaving the first-year to fate, Pericles whispered: "Lower your voice and put out your candle, or you'll get the both of us caught." He paused, then on a softer note, the disembodied voice added "Are you lost?" Why else would another student be in the library past curfew? Well... unless they were up to the same scheme as him.

Trying and failing to enter the Restricted Section.
Has drank an Invisibility Potion and cast Quietus on his boots

(Sorry for the wait, was waiting on the potion to get approved!)

time⠀11:30 pm

date⠀21/12/23

outfit⠀nightdress

interacting⠀@pericles dralt

The first year hadn't planned to linger in the Library any longer than necessary, since she’d much rather stay in the warmth of her covers than get detention. Scrubbing desks and wiping windows were far from what the pureblood wanted.

“Lower your voice and put out your candle, or you'll get the both of us caught.”

Another voice cutting through the dark of the corridor caused Arianna's stomach to drop. And it dropped even further when she realized that she was, inevitably, screwed. Why didn't she just leave? Excuses were ready to spill out of her mouth before she realized it was just another normal student. Arianna squinted in the dim light, the voice had been just beside her, yet there wasn't a person in sight.

The boy that portrait had been talking about earlier.

“Who - Who are you?” She faltered, expression kept carefully blank. “I'm perfectly capable of dueling, I assure you.” Arianna threatened viciously, taking a step while her fingers quickly gripped for her wand of cherry wood and phoenix feather. Still, she hadn’t learnt much in her first semester at school but the boy was not going to know that. However, Arianna wasn't foolish enough to try and tackle the boy single handed. She still had no knowledge of this who the voice belonged to, and for all she knows, a wand might be pointing at her this very moment. So it would be best to not incite any argument until she was certain that the outcome wouldn't end up with her lying on a bed in the hospital wing.

Tread carefully with the unknown.

The voice didn’t answer her question. “Are you lost?” A softer note.

It gave more information than it intended. A dark wizard would not bother to ask if a girl is lost, that person seemed kind - a vulnerable quality in situations like this.

“I suppose so,” Arianna said, barely concealing a sneer. It was a lie of course, she wasn’t lost, it was merely a reason to follow the voice - whoever it belonged to.

“Swann. Arianna Swann.” She introduced herself in a haughty manner, clearly expecting her last name to be recognized. Arianna's lips twitched into an almost-smirk, silently evaluating how much respect should be given. “What in Merlin are you doing out past curfew?” asked the girl nonchalantly. Like staring down a dragon, Arianna looked up with slight vitriol - even though she had no idea what she was staring at.

@Arianna Swann

“Who - Who are you?”
"A ghost." He spoke flatly, with just enough dry humor to his tone to convey this was sarcasm.
“I'm perfectly capable of dueling, I assure you.” "There won't be any need for that." If she was lost, she was bound to be a first-year. Pericles abhorred the idea of casting at a first-year, duellist or no, only considering it as an absolute last resort. A vulnerability indeed. Whoever the disembodied voice came from was an altruist, who would definitely take pity on a stray younger-year. Pericles cast a forlorn look towards the Forbidden Section. Another night, he supposed with a small sigh, regretting the thought that he might have wasted such an expensive potion. But then, maybe he could come back once this one was taken care of... assuming they hadn't already alerted the librarian. He scanned the room before soundlessly stepping out from behind the bookshelves.

Pericles moved for the dropped locksmith's knife, and if Arianna was watching, she would see the thing levitate from the floor before disappearing into an invisible pocket. The girl introduced herself, then demanded to know what he was doing out past curfew. "Lost or no, I could ask the same of you." The sly whisper came from somewhere on her left. Whoever he was, the "ghost" made a point of not returning an introduction. He spoke with the tired sort of let's-get-this-on-with voice of someone who didn't want to leave behind whatever they were working on, but was morally obligated, invested in keeping her from getting caught. Funny how things changed, as he would've been the one hunting down curfew breakers a couple year ago. "Alright, miss Swann: what house are you in? I have a Camo Cloak with me. It isn't as effective as a real invisibility cloak, but we can use it to smuggle you back to your common room, if we're quiet. I know these halls like the back of my hand."

Has drank an Invisibility Potion and cast Quietus on his boots