The Prankster and I Pam

Speech -- Thoughts

Now, if you asked Pam if she liked pranks, she would tell you that she didn't. But, truth hr told, she enjoyed watching people pranking and getting pranked, and she also knew a few of the more popular pranksters in the school, definitely by face if not by name.

She was just too lazy to actually plan and execute a prank.

Pranking was somewhere fourth in her list of 'like to do's, and the first three took up all her free time (and sleep). So end result? She did not spend any time trying to plan how to bother others.

Pam was lost in random thoughts that came and went, when a loud sneeze from ahead of her startled her out of her thoughts. Turning around, her eyes fell on some student who seemed to have been caught in a bout of sneezes, cursing as they fled down the corridor. Well, there was nothing weird about it, probably, right? People sneezed all the time. Pam shrugged, continuing on her way down the corridor towards her common room. As she neared a statue on one corner, a shadow which seemed rather out of place, caught her attention, stopping her in her tracks. After debating for a second, Pam walked over to peek behind the statue, keeping a decent space in case she needed to flee.

A...boy?

Pam frowned, drawing closer and asked, "You...what are you doing...?"

Dennis was growing tired of his little game. There was only so many times he could make someone sneeze or twitch uncontrollably, and eventually all the students started to look the same. The joy wearing off, he decided to put his wand away. That would do for a break. As he got up a voice caught his attention. He peaked around the statue and blinked at the girl addressing him. He didn’t recognize her at all. He squinted, even though he didn’t need glasses, perhaps that would help? It didn’t.

What was he doing? Well, clearly that wasn’t any business of a nosey girl from Hufflepuff! Dennis crossed his arms and leaned on the statue. “Why…I was just checking this statue for cobwebs. You can never be too careful you know! If you let cobwebs sit for too long they can explode!” Dennis clearly had no clue how cobwebs worked.

“I can ask you the same thing. What are you doing here? I heard someone sneezing. Was that you?” He asked feigning innocence. He really hoped it was her he had jinxed. He never actually intended to be confronted. But surely this girl wasn’t thinking about picking a fight. If he played his cards right, perhaps he could convince her to work on a prank with him! Two wands are better than one!

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

The boy seemed to be taken aback at being approached by Pam and a girl felt a rush of satisfaction at that for no reason whatsoever. The male had looked like he had been caught doing something illegal and Pam found curiosity flare up in her. "Cobwebs?" Pam repeated, subconsciously stepping back. She hated spiders, and everything related to the creatures. That extended to cobwebs.

Glancing at the statue, Pam noted that it was pretty clean and she blinked, saying, "Uh..good job? I guess?" She did not mention the fact that the boy was not carrying anything he could have possibly used for the job. What did he clean with? His hands? Well, he did have a wand. Pam often forgot that magic could be used for stuff like these.

The boy returned her question to her and Pam replied, "I was just passing by. I just saw you randomly." As he asked her whether she had sneezed, Pam frowned, turning her head to look in the direction the person had earlier disappeared, "That wasn't me. It was someone else. Weren't you the one jinxing the others...?" Pam suddenly wondered why she had blurted that out. Was it because most of the others were ending up sneezing near the statue? She hadn't meant to bring it up like that, and she hastened to correct herself, "Er I didn't mean that...I was, um, asking because everyone was sneezing near the statue so I thought..." She trailed off, unsure of how to complete her words. Damn, that's embarrassing.

Dennis was almost certain he had gotten away with his pranks. “Thanks, I work especially hard on this spot…er…here,” Dennis said pointing behind the statue somewhere out of the girl’s eyesight. “But yeah. This statue is looking as good as new. Time to move on to the next one…er…over there…somewhere,” he continued pointing off in the distance somewhere behind her.

He made a move to walk around her when she squarely accused him of jinxing people. Looks like this girl wouldn’t be tricked so easily. She was pretty smart for a Hufflepuff. He wasn’t exactly sure what this girl wanted exactly though, even though she had a good eye he still looked at her with suspicion. Was she going to like, tell on him or something? “Yeah…well…a little harmless prank to wake up sleepy students never hurt anyone yeah?” He countered, now fully forgetting to deny his previous actions.

“What of it though?” He asked. The jig was up. “Did you want to have a go at some pranks?” The question was more one of hope that he could escape the current predicament than of any real interest in including her at the moment. Dennis wasn’t really sure what he’d do if he actually got caught!

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

The boy did not seem to have put much thought into his lie. If Pam knew anything about lying, it was that confidence was key. One could bluff their way through anything and everything if it sounded convincing enough. Vague responses did not cut it.

Perhaps the boy had realised that much himself, for he admitted to playing the pranks on the others. Pam did not want to point out to him that pranking potentially tired students involved higher chances of a punch, or more inconveniently, a hex to the face.

The boy's next words were technically an invatipn to join him, although to Pam's ears, it was more like he was trying to escape the situation with as less damage done to his pranking career as possible. Pam shook her head, answering almost mechanically, "Uh no thanks I'll..."

When the question properly registered though, she reconsidered. It occurred to her that it was a golden opportunity to have some fun and since she was too lazy to take an initiative for pranking someone, perhaps the presence of someone else would be pretty useful. "On second thoughts, can I?" She wondered what she would do if the boy turned her down though. Let's wait for if that happens.

To Dennis’ surprise she not only wasn’t going to report him but actually wanted to join him. His offer had been little more than a way to move on from the conversation. He wasn’t going to turn her away though, he had more ideas what to do and having two people would help make the pranks more nuanced. “Sure, I can let you join,” he said, rubbing his hands together and looking around.

He found his next target rounding the corner, and nodded his direction. “Show me what you’ve got…” Dennis realized he didn’t actually know her name but that would definitely be the next thing on the agenda after the prank. “I recommend hiding somewhere where you can’t be seen,” he followed up as the target in question stooped down to tie his shoes giving her enough time to slide into place.

As for Dennis, he took a few steps around the statue he was using to conceal his presence and was his potential Hufflepuff protege at work. He drew his wand just in case he needed to help if anything went sideways. He had a few good spells he had been really hoping to try that would make a creative end to a potentially aggressive confrontation.

@Pamela Graham

Speech -- Thoughts

Pam smiled as the boy— what is his name?— agreed to let her join him. She supposed it was good in a way. She had been like forty percent interested in pranking, and this would help her develop her taste, she supposed.

However, her smile dropped as the boy nodded towards a figure rounding the corner, and told her to cast something, "Wait- right now?!" She wasn't very good at reacting unprepared. Turning her head at him, Pam spotted him retreating to the shadows of the statue and followed quickly, hoping there was enough space to fit her too.

The next problem was what to cast. Out of all her spells, the only ones she could cast would be Tarantallegra and the Bewitched Snowballs. Ok and maybe the bubble producing charm. Then again, the last one didn't seem very suitable this specific occasion.

So that left her with the other two options. Pam figured that the Dancing feet charm would be funnier, and so she made up her mind, raising her wand towards the boy, who had knelt to tie his shoelaces, and muttered, "Tarantallegra" softly. The boy's legs spasmed, and Pam winced as one of his knees seemed to catch his jaw. Ooh, painful.

As she finished casting the spell though, her doubts set in, and she mumbled, "Should I have cast the Bewitched Snowballs instead?"

Dennis waited patiently, still hiding, for the Hufflepuff to make up her mind. He was fairly certain at this point that she wasn’t going to report him or cause him any trouble. If she was going to do that she would have done that by now. She seemed amicable to the idea of joining him for a few pranks however, when he offered her a victim, she seemed to hesitate. Her expression dropped and he was pretty sure she would choke. It’s hard to walk the walk, he supposed. He was just about to give up after she stuttered if he meant to show him a prank at that moment. This girl was obviously hopeless. Perhaps it would have been cool to have a partner in crime.

“Well?” He whispered urgently into her ear, the statue not all together being large enough a hiding place for both of them, perhaps a little too close. He was close enough that he couldn’t avoid his nose being tickled by her hair. She smelled…well…he wasn’t really going to continue that thought at this moment, now was he? He grunted in discomfort as he waited for her to make up her mind.

She finally settled on a spell, which quite honestly shocked Dennis into forgetting his own precarious position being so close to her. Her spell hit and gave the victim a quick spasm. “Way to go,” he said obviously impressed. After the boy left, Dennis gave her a little bump indicating she should move. “Ok well, while you wait for another spell. I’ve got to get going,” he said giving her another nudge, this time a little more insistent.

As he moved to go around her and out of hiding, “By the way. I’m Dennis. Dennis Tumberton. See you around!” He gave her a pat on the shoulder and a nod and then walked speedily away. He had pranked enough people that even if this girl didn’t report him, surely a prefect was on their way and he would not get caught so easily! Good luck, Hufflepuff Girl!

@Pamela Graham

Dennis out! More pranks coming soon!