A Chaotic Meeting
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Dove didn't remember the train being this impressive when she entered it a year before now. She felt so tiny, even if she grew up since her first year. However, what was different this time was the fact she would probably spend this journey alone. As for last year, she was a total newbie, which meant that of course other firsties (usually) don't know eachother, so she found it easier to join a compartment with people her age. But now, most of second years had friends, whom they'd probably spend this travel with, at least she was believing it, but Dove wasn't those people. She liked spending time on her own of course, being lost in her thoughts, sleeping, reading etc, but she definitly prefered spending it with a friend.
But it was too late to go back a year, well bonding with someone to go to the train with them now. So here she was, still holding her little brother's hand, who didn't want to leave her even though she was on the steps to enter the Hogwarts Express.
"- Come on Alfie, you know I have to go.
- But I don't want you to leave now.
- I'll send you letters every week okay ? And I'll be back home for Halloween !"
With this said, the sad little boy left Dove's hand, still pouting though.
"Okay for the letters, but then you start tonight."
The big sister smiled at her brother.
"I don't think that I will be able to, but you'll receive one tomorrow, I promise."
And with this said, Alfie waved at her, quite a long time, before going back hugging their parents.
Dove knew that if she stayed there for too long, first she would obstruct the way, and then she would struggle more to leave her family. Therefore, she turned her back to them and walked into this sort of moving palace, looking for an empty compartment, which wasn't to complicated to find. Indeed, she insisted to came here a bit early so she wouldn't have issues with that. The Ravenclaw didn't want to wait more before entering into it, so she put her suitcase on its appropriate place and took a seat near the window. She looked outside, and saw her parents leaving the platform, turning their back to her. They could have waited for the train to start. she thought, while starting to feel sadness grow into her throat. Oh no, don't start to cry Dove.
So, to think to anything else instead of her leaving family of her lack of friends, she took her hand from her robe, because yes, she's already all dressed up as a Ravenclaw. She hasn't taken it properly for two months and was obviously missing it. What could I do with it ? And that was when she saw a snail, making a smile appear on her face. She had learned a funny spell, to transform it into a tea pot. She closed her eyes, imagined the spell into her head while taking deep breathes to help her concentrate, and when she was ready, she put her hand in front of her, ther wand in it, waving it two times, before saying : "A-" what was the incantation already ? Oh no, she had said something completly stupid, and was now looking at the snail, with a horror face starting to be shaped. It did look, like a teo pot, but not like it was supposed to be : the shape was present, but the structure was made of the poor animal shell, and the handle having the head of the snail. But this horrible animal-object wasn't the worse : instead of tea going out of it was some viscous slime, with a horrible sent.
"Oh my gosh, why doesn't it want to stop coming off this thing ?"
Dove was completly paniqued, why was this happening to her ? She wanted to think of something else of her sadness, but it was now even worse. She didn't dare to approach the weird thing, with only way of defense her poor wand, which just betrayed her.
Interacting with : @Rafal Devereux | Date of the thread : 01/09/2025 | WC : 693/200
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Last edited by Dove Cullen on 22 Jul 2025, 08:34, edited 1 time in total.
A Chaotic Meeting
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Indeed, the majestic nature of the Hogwarts Express is not in the slightest diminished by the fact that Rafal is no longer regarding it all for the very first time. Standing before the steadily more familiar train, he takes in the sharply scarlett hue, the insistent cacophony of families and friends bidding farewell and hello alike. It is all rather grand, he thinks, straightening up and pulling his trunk closer to save from the patter of mindless feet.
And strangely cathartic, though the Slytherin always was rather dramatic. He is starting to get odd and slightly annoyed looks from just standing still before the locomotive like a statue, but Rafal needs his moment. And it is hardly difficult to manoeuvre around one boy.
The first year at Hogwarts was everything he had hoped for and more. The classes, homework, late-night studying of spells and potions and magical creatures alike - it is like someone reached into Rafal mind and plucked out everything in his wildest dreams. And now the Slytherin can do it all over again. He can hardly contain himself just thinking about it.
He catches a glimpse of the clock, startles. Oh dear, 10:58! Moment’s over, Rafal better get on if he still wants to be a second year Hogwarts student. He unceremoniously lugs his trunk up onto the wagon, hurriedly sets off down the corridor.
Compartment choice is nothing to trifle with. Often, the carriage one ends up in on this very first train ride can set the tone for the entire year, and Rafal does not wish to repeat the same mistakes from last time. No, he will not have it!
However, at the end of the day, no matter how many grand plans or schemes he makes, Rafal is still a twelve-year old boy. His impulsiveness will be the death of him.
As he passes through the seemingly endless rows of cabins, one suddenly catches his eye. A lone girl, dark hair and Ravenclaw robes, holding a wand in one hand and with the most dismayed expression of panic on her face. Rafal instinctively slows down, pauses to look through the small window.
Peering into the space, it is all too easy to realize the cause of the girl’s distress. A most disturbing snail-teapot hybrid, leaking what appears to be slime. The snail head where the handle should be swivels to the sides rapidly, adding to the disturbing uncanniness.
Rafal cannot contain himself. He yanks the sliding door open, almost taking it off its hinges. "I can help!" he blurts out, then without waiting for an answer, squeezes into the compartment. Abandoning his trunk by the doorway, he digs around his pockets for his wand. It is all entirely inappropriate and extremely random.
Plopping down beside the student a bit too close for a complete stranger, Rafal grins at the poor girl, perhaps overly enthusiastically. "Okay, so you were doing the Snail to Teapot spell, right?" It is relatively easy to deduce, especially since she is likely around his age, and it’s not as if they have a particularly large database of spells to choose from yet.
"Okay, so watch this." In his defence, Rafal truly does not realize the depth of his irksomeness at the moment. Aiming his wand at the poor deformed mess of a snail, he recites the incantation from memory, "Chocela Bibe!"
What happens next, is something Rafal will likely try and fail to forget for decades to come. It will haunt his nightmares, and possibly turn out to be his boggart. His enemies will use it to terror and destroy him. The snail-teapot hybrid, almost seems to make a groaning noise, then erupts in snail tentacles, each growing in a pair and flaring up all throughout the snail-shall body of the teapot. They sway in union, bringing to mind a field of daisies. Except it is not like a field of daisies, at all.
Someone screams. It may be Rafal. He stares in horror at his unholy creation, scrambles to get his feet up onto the cushion. He might be pressing a little closer to the brunette girl than is strictly necessary, but that is just in case she happens to be feeling scared. Not because he himself is, not at all. In fact, it would not be far-fetched to call Rafal a hero. Lending strength and providing comfort to those lost and trepidatious souls who need it. That is just what he does.
Interacting with @Dove Cullen
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
A Chaotic Meeting
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The ground was moving beneath Dove's feet, meaning it was 11am, and that the Hogwarts Express was now moving. Panic was growing, a bit too quickly, almost starting to transform into tears, when she heard steps, accompanied by a masculine voice. She turned herself, observing a boy so tall she had to raise her head to see he had curly blond hair. Because he was like a giant to the Ravenclaw, she thought he must be older than her. Anyway, the arruving of this savior was such a relief she let escape some loud breathe, but she didn't matter about it since there was more important : stopping this weird creature. "Yeah I was, but look at this, I completly messed up." Her voice was broken, as if she was crying, which could have been an interesting contrast with the blond boy's weird enthusiasm apart from this circumstance.
But it didn't bother Dove at all, this boy's joy, since it meant it knew what he was doing, and that he would stop this horrible mess. At least she hoped so, but she was starting to be quite optimistic about this situation. Moreover, he seemed to be sure of himself, which was rassuring Dove. "Okay, I trust you !" She was feeling inside an action movie, more precisely at the end of it, with the big vilain almost being destroyed. Thefore, as the boy's savior asked, she was watching him casting the spell. What kind of spell is that ? I've never heard of it. she thought, but she put all her trust in him she didn't more overthink it.
Well, she visibly should, because what looked like nightmare, which she could have dreamt about, was now impossible to imagined if she had never seen it before : the weirdo teapot-snail had now transform into something worse, when a minute ago she thought it was the most disgusting thing she had never faced with : a countless number of tentacles had appeared on the shelly pot, it even made a weird noise !
Dove was too tuned to even let escape any sound of her mouth. If even him couldn't have saved the situation, how were they now supposed to make this horror vison disapear from the surface of the Earth ? She could feel the stranger had gotten closer to her. Oh gosh, he's as scared as me, what are we gonna do ?. "What the hell did you do ? I thought you got this !" She wasn't angry or anything, after all she was the one who started this mess, but he was supposed to be a savior, and he just made it worse ! Dove would have find the situation quite funny, if she wasn't evolved in it.
Okay, she needed to calm herself. Well, that was easy to say, but she knew that panic never solved anything, and it wasn't going to start now. They visibly didn't seem to be both gifted for spells, maybe they could try a muggle way. "Do you think we can open the window ? Maybe we could just throw this thing out of here." Cooperation was the best idea. She realised she hadn't been really nice to him earlier, she didn't mean it but he couldn't know it. And moreover, she kind of counted on him to take the monster with his hands...
Interacted with : @Rafal Devereux | Date of thread : 01/09/2025 | WC : 562/200
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A Chaotic Meeting
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"I-I don’t know!" Rafal squeaks, arms drawn tight to his chest and wand hanging limply in his hand. "I swear, this never happened before!" The long period of dormancy during the summer holidays must have rendered his unfaithful wand kooky! Surely, that is the only reasonable explanation.
The situation seems hopeless. Both Rafal and the poor girl beside him are quivering in frightened messes, mere damsels-in-distresses. The abomination on the ground has all the leverage at the moment, and the Slytherin suspects it knows that. As he watches on in a sort of appalled trace, it starts producing slime at a rather alarming rate. Time is running out. They need their Knight before both are trapped in a mucus-filled compartment, condemned to a fate worse than death.
Rafal casts a despairing glance toward the hallway. It may be hours before anyone comes upon them, by which time it will have been too late. And Rafal suspects the thing is only waiting for them to make sudden movement or loud sounds before attacking, so calling for help is out of the question.
"Windows don’t open." he whispers, without taking his gaze off Tentacles. "I’m Rafal, by the way." he adds confidentially, "What about you?" Just because they are surely both inches away from their inevitable demise does not mean he should forget his manners, after all.
Is it just him, or is good ol’ Tentacles rather quite a lot closer to their seat than before? Rafal carefully angles his head toward the girl and oh-so-casually holds up a hand to cover his face. "It senses weakness."
The clock is ticking. They need to make a difficult decision. Steeling his nerve, Rafal whips out his wand. It shakes slightly as he points it at his enemy. "If I don’t make it, random girl," he looks to her with an unwavering gaze. "Tell the world my story."
Then he turns back to his creation. Rafal started it and now, Rafal needs to end it. Well, technically it was the girl who first cast the spell that - But never mind. The twelve-year-old recalls back to that very specific Charms lesson, back when he had no idea of the unimaginable atrocities he would one day face.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" And with his wand, Rafal guides the floating monster to the door, and then out into the hallway, where he promptly lets it fall to the ground. He almost rips the doors off once again in his haste to slide them closed, and slumps back onto the cushions with a relieved sigh. Crisis averted.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen," he mutters, self satisfied, "- is how it’s done." That thing is the problem of whichever poor student happens to stumble upon - or god forbid, trip over it - now. He just wishes there isn’t so much slime everywhere, though at this point it hardly even registers on his mind.
Interacting with @Dove Cullen
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
A Chaotic Meeting
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Oh no, if those stupid windows didn't open, how would they manage to get this almost monster go away ? She looked at the stranger- no Rafal with a weird face. "You really think it's the good time to introduce ourselves ?" she said with a failed-hidden panic voice. They should find a way to get rid of the thing before telling eachother names, shouldn't they ?
She shared another horrified face to Rafal. Is he going crazy ? We should work on this together, he's gonna get hurt ! she was thinking, she definitly didn't meet her savior. "I don't freaking know your story ! We met five minutes ago just so you remember !" But he didn't seem to care, or even hear, about was she said. So she just looked at him, who had his wand in the hand, approaching the terrifying tentacle teapot. What's he gonna do ? The suspense was unbarable. Then, she understood, she recognised the gesture of his hand, while casting the leviosa spell. Okay, she maybe had met a savior. But she wasn't completly sure yet, until she saw the flying pot going into the corridors. Okay, he was definitly a savior.
"Oh. My. Gosh. Thank you so much, I genuely didn't think we were gonna leave this compartment alive." she was now looking at this mess. It was really disgusting, and was starting to think on how they could clean this up. "Oh and I'm Dove by the way." Yep, now was an appropriate time for exchanging names.
And now was mostly a time for cleaning all this up. She took her suitcase, fortunatly it hadn't been touched by the thing, but she put her feet into some slimy texture she didn't want to know what it was. "Ew..." Anyway she believed she had some tissues into her trunk, it might be useful. But she would need help from Rafal, because sje was definitly not doing this alone. Okay, she started it, but he got it worse (let's not talk about the part he saved the situation) "By the way, what was the spell you tried before it grew tentacles ? I can't recognise it." she thought she maybe was being a bit rude in her words, si she added : "It might be useful, not to say it again, or to do some tricks to other people."
Wow, what is happening to you, Dove ? She usually wasn't like this, more a poor shy girl, but it looked like all of this just made all her nerves fall. "Oh, and to clean this I only got some tissues, I don't know if it will be enough."
Date of thread : 01/09/2025 | Interacting with : @Rafal Devereux | WC : 442/200
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A Chaotic Meeting
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"Wow, somebody’s parents never taught them proper manners." Rafal rolls his eyes, then turns to Tentacles on the ground, who had coincidentally levelled up their slime-producing powers at least tenfold since five seconds ago. "Can you believe her, Snaily?"
Ravenclaws really are rather lofty, aren’t they? Rafal frowns. ”Just make something up. Make me sound brave and heroic and all those things. Shouldn’t be hard. It wouldn’t hurt to add in a part about how the terrifying snail-teapot hybrid monster tried to throw a poor defenceless girl out the window and I saved you at the risk of my own life, heroically, either. Just-" he waves his spare hand dismissively. "And maybe just — choke up a little bit when you get to that part, dealer’s choice."
And they say Healers are the real heroes. In Rafal’s mind, it would not be too exorbitant, at the moment, for him to be carried down the path of the train, upon the shoulders of cheering crowds. That is the extent of his bravery and valour. "Trust me, neither did I." He fixes the girl with a hard stare. "It would not have been a cool way to die."
Dove. That is a funny name. "Like the bird?" Rafal inquires, sitting up slightly. What is it with people naming their kids after animals?
Scoffing at Dove’s words, the Slytherin lets himself fall back against the cushion of the bench again. "You know, you really shouldn’t be so rude to someone who just saved you from a slimy death." He raises an eyebrow. "If it weren’t for me, you’s drifting around in a gooey compartment with a killer teapot right about now.”
"In fact," Suddenly smirking, Rafal makes a show of putting his wand back into his pocket. "Since I’m so awful at everything, I’m guessing you don’t need my help cleanings all of this -" he tilts his head lightly in the direction of the goo-covered ground. "- up? Should be no problem with those super-tissues, yeah?"
Interacting with @Dove Cullen
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
A Chaotic Meeting
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Okay, Dove's adrenaline had just disapeared when she heard Rafal's reaction about her tissues. She just re-built the scene into her mind, details per details, and realised that she hadn't thanked him properly, she even had been rude to him ? Yeah, that wasn't Dove who acted this way, but more Crow, since she remembered the boy's "joke" about her name (it wasn't really funny). So, she found his reaction rude, when he decided he didn't want to help her clean all this mess, but she kind of deserved it. "Oh uh, yeah I'll clean this." She had lost all her confidence. In fact, she had just become what she was before casting the spell. She didn't really know what to say, or do. Well, do she knew, she opened her trunk, found some tissue boxes. Ouch it hurt, using them, since they could have been useful in another way.
She didn't dare looking at Rafal's eyes, she was too ashamed of her behavior two minutes ago. Thefore she just cleaned up on the floor, before realising the tissue was to thin to take off the slime, so she used two, then three, then four at the same time to clean one part of the mess. Okay, this is going to be long. and awkward knowing someone was looking at her cleaning. A someone she still hadn't apologized to.
The Ravenclaw stood up, because talking to someone while almost having the head stick to the floor wasn't a super idea, and searched her words so she could avoid any stutteingr. "I'm sorry, I've been rude to you and I don't even know why. You were brave taking this thing outta here, thank you, really." Those were nice words she said, no stuttering, only quite a lack of confidence, so she hoped he understood she meant it.
She realised tissues wouldn't be any efficient for this, and she didn't want to try any more spell, she had kind of made an overdose of these. She could use some of her clothes, but once again, if she could avoid it it'd be great. So she just continued with her stupid tissues. Gosh, if I haven't casted this freaking spell, I would be either reading or sleeping right now. Yeah, but then she wouldn't have met Rafal. And even if he had some... weird behaviors sometimes, she believed he could be kind, at least she hoped because she had the feeling he would stay in this compartment during the journey.
Interacting with : @Rafal Devereux | Date of thread : 01/09/2025 | WC : 416/200
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A Chaotic Meeting
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What is Rafal’s least favourite thing in the world? Aubergines, naturally - he quite literally cannot swallow one without retching. And trust, he has tried. Many times. It never ends well. However, people who dish it out, but can’t take it, comes as a close second. It’s not fair, and makes him feel so unreasonably awful, like he’s kicking a puppy.
Something one must know about this particular Slytherin is, that while he can be teasing and prone to jests, it is always in good fun. It takes a lot to truly upset him, and very few manage to push those proverbial buttons to that level. Another fun fact, is he is excessively soft-hearted and straight-up crumbles in the presence of sad chaps.
Which is precisely what is happening right now. Dove seems to completely deflate at his words, and all of a sudden, turns timid and shaky - a complete 180 from mere seconds ago. Rafal stares on in consternation as the girl actually starts trying to clean up with her bloody tissues. It is like he is frozen in place by his bewilderment, and does not manage to snap out of it until Dove apologizes to him. And utterly sincerely, too!
He sits bolt upright. "No, no!" Gosh, the puppy euphemism is getting more and more spot on. "Dove, I was joking. It was a joke!" Rafal finds he is shaking his head furiously. "I didn’t think you would take it seriously!"
"And, you know," he adds hastily. "I may have been the one to take that thing out here, but I’m also the one who made it grow tentacles. Which is like, at least 65 percent of the resultant horror." He pauses, considers his next words. "So let’s say, we’ll put 60 percent of the credit for our rescue to me, and 40 to you? It’s only fair." The math is not at all mathing, but Rafal knows, this is one of the few times there are more important things to prioritize.
He looks to the compartment floor. The tissues palpably did not help, and now they have drowned. It is all very tragic. "You know," Rafal starts hesitantly, slowly extracts his wand from his pocket once more. "I might know a spell that’s good for this." He flashes Dove a quick grin. "Let’s hope I don’t make tentacles grow from the ground this time." In all seriousness though, that would be terrifying.
An S shape, isn’t it? Concentrating hard, Rafal points his wand at the floor. "Scourgify!" A second which feels like an eternity, then all the gooey slime miraculously clears, leaving behind nothing but the nice shiny floor. Rafal has never appreciated a nice shiny floor more.
Interacting with @Dove Cullen
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
A Chaotic Meeting
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Oh. Well, that was embarassing. She thought she had more sense of humour than this, and blushed at the biggest misunderstandment she had never lived. Dove thought Rafal was resentful about her behaviour, but he visibly wasn't as much as she thought. Of course, it would be for the best if the boy wasn't mad at her, but still, she was a bit ashamed for not understanding it earlier. "Oh I'm sorry I thought-" she was about to justficate her behaviour, but the blond-haired kept going without letting her finish her sentence.
She let escape a laugh, seeing him doing weird mathematics. But yeah, it seemed quite fair how he distributed those percents, and even if it wasn't really correct, she understood what he meant. "Okay let's say that. But that doesn't help us for the whole slime thing." She took a look at her useless tissues, swimming in the slimy liquid on the floor. It was the most digusting thing, after the failed teapot, she had never seen in her life. Really, she was wondering how she still hadn't threw up since the beginning of this "adventure".
Rafal's grin about his potentious spell made Dove a bit reluctant about his idea. "Are you SURE this is going to work this time ?" Because she still remembered how she felt, seing the teapot-snail becoming a tentacle monster. She crossed her fingers, and looked at him with a smile, hoping he'd see she trusted him, so she could give him more confidence she thought was useful for a successed spell.
She didn't know if her grin did really help him, but at the view of the repulsive floor, becoming even cleaner than when she entered the comparment, she couldn't contain her joy. "You did it ! I think we can say our rescue is now 80 percent do to you."
She let herself fall into the sit, before realising she still had her trunk stuck in the floor. She took one more breath before grumbling whild standing up again, so she can close her suitcase and put it in a more appropriate place. Let's now hope that this thing doesn't know how to open a door or we're screwed." she said, pointing her fingers into the direction of the hallways.
They could now both enjoy their journey to Hogwarts, thing she had waited with impatience. She took a look at Rafal. She still didn't know how old he was, his tallness wasn't helping her. "By the way, I'm a second year. What about you ?" She kind of hoped he was his age, it may would be easier to sympathise or something.
Interacting with : @Rafal Devereux | Date of thread : 01/09/2025 | WC : 448/200
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A Chaotic Meeting
What an adventure! Top notch, five stars, would definitely recommend. Spent and done, the Slytherin collapses into his seat once more, hopefully for the last time. Never, not even once, had pre-train Rafal expected the daring and colourful exploits which would betide him before the school year even formally started, and if he had, he suspects better coverage shoes would have been worn.
He watches on as Dove drags her suitcase to a place to a space she deemed appropriate, and muses how it is really rather fortunate that nothing of hers fell victim to the fiendish slime teapot. That would have been immensely unpleasant, and going back to a magical institution is daunting enough without the mucky hats and pants.
"If that thing somehow manages to open the door, it deserves to eat us." he states, deadpan. How would a limbless teapot even go about something like that? Unless Rafal has somehow infused it with its very own magic, and this is merely the beginning of Snaily’s reign of terror.
Eh, well. Problem for another time.
Rafal slides over so that he is right by the window, and props an arm up on the sill. From Dove’s perspective, he must look to have all but sunk straight into the cushion seat, but it’s not like there’s any adult here to nag about his posture. He perks back up a little at Dove’s words. "No way! So am I!" This surely must be fate.
A slight hesitation, then adds, "And I’m in Slytherin, in case you wanted to know." Perhaps it is foolish to show trepidation toward something as banal as revealing his house, but the negative postulates some hold toward the snakes of Hogwarts is difficult to completely disregard, however baseless those notions may be.
Resting a cheek against his palm, Rafal regards Dove appraisingly. "You know, I can’t believe we’ve never met before." He sits up, and leans forward with hands on his knees. "I guess the fates always meant for us to meet in this… zany way." The Slytherin has no confidence that what just came out of his mouth not sure is even a word, but it seems to sum up this experience thus far quite well.
Interacting with @Dove Cullen
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours