Dissendi-Dumb
11 oct 2025
Avis was at odds with her own curiosity and it was extremely aggravating. It was the cause of getting locked in a boys' bathroom stall for 3 hours the other day. Her curiosity had also been the cause of almost breaking her neck on her broomstick last week, not mention it had been the cause of a sheepish apology to the owner of an intriguing bag she had rifled through on impulse. That one had been sort of worth it though. She'd found some lemon drops that the bag owner had exasperatedly said she could keep.
Anyway, now, it was the cause of her wandering around the hallways like a lunatic, wand in hand and the word 'Dissendium' being muttered every now and again at the walls. It wasn't her fault. It was Prim's if she was being technical. Her older sister had been cozied up in a chair in the Ravenclaw common room and Avis had found herself perched on the arm of the chair, reading over her shoulder. See, Prim had gotten to the section about secret passageways in Hogwarts, A History and that had not only intrigued Avis but reminded her that she'd mastered the spell 'Dissendium' just last term during her first year.
This train of thought had led to her wondering if there were any undiscovered secret passageways left at Hogwarts which had forced the question out to her older sister who had said in a somewhat annoyed tone, "I dunno. Go find out for yourself and let me read."
And this was how her curiosity had led to Avis walking slowly down the second corridor of Hogwarts on a Saturday afternoon, searching the walls (and suits of armor and several portraits much to their chagrin) for an undiscovered passage or at least a broom closet.
She'd already scoured the first floor and had no luck but she hadn't been deterred as there were 6 more floors and a collection of towers to explore. Avis was convinced she'd find something. After all, this must have been what those who'd discovered a passageway had done, right?
Right.
After trying a suspicious looking door (it had been a house elf maintenance closet), Avis continued on, eyes shifting back and forth between each wall. She stopped once again at a stone that was sticking out slightly past its neighbors. A shock of excitement pulsed through her chest as she reached her wand out and tapped it against the stray piece of wall.
"Dissendium," she whispered and waited for a moment. Nothing. Avis sighed, staring at the stone. "Could've sworn you were special," she muttered, completely unaware of how insane she might look to anyone else as she spoke directly to the wall.
@Rafal Devereux
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Dissendi-Dumb
The nice thing about staying in an honest-to-god castle, complete with evil forrest, creepy dungeons where tortures almost certainly take place, and its very own batty old man is that one can truly never get bored. Even if Rafal were to spend every second of his free time in the next six years utterly focused on poking around the gripping mystery that is his school, he will likely still have only uncovered 0.13 percent of its secrets by graduation.
Not that he plans on doing any of it, of course. Playing Investigator is fun, but the Slytherin has too much on his agenda for his time as a student to get too into side quests, and he suspects that detective work is the sort that one is prone to get addicted to - once you come upon your first surreptitious monster, you just can’t stop!
Though sometimes, Rafal wonders if the adult population of Hogwarts actually mean for them do just that. From the in-depth dives into school enigmas during class, to literally teaching spells which would let them nose around more easily; it is honestly no surprise how much stuff goes down here all the time.
This is all that runs through Rafal’s mind as he makes his way up to the Study Room on a Saturday afternoon, satchel slung over his shoulder and head buzzing with theories. What if the whole school is just some sort of social experiment? Or spell gone wrong? Or what if, the creepy headmaster is controlling the entire faculty and using them as mere puppets to carry forward his evil plans? Rafal frowns. Someone has got to stop —
"Could've sworn you were special."
The second year stops smack in his tracks, head swivelling back to look behind him at the random girl he had just passed by. He admits he had not been too focused on his surroundings, but he is certain he hadn’t imagined it. For one, the girl is still facing opposite from him, right in front of the blank stone wall, which unless Rafal has gone quite mad, is who - or what? - she had just spoken to.
He backtracks uncertainly, clears a throat to signal his presence. If she really is as nutty as she seems, better to not startle her. "Um, hello." he starts, standing rather stiffly and with one hand resting awkwardly against the strap of his satchel. The tension is evident in his voice. "If you don’t mind me asking, are you quite all right?"
Interacting with @Avis Greymond
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
Dissendi-Dumb
Despite the boy's unassuming and unalarming presence, Avis jumped at the sound of a throat being cleared behind her and she whirled around, wand out and eyes wide in surprise. She balked at the Slytherin that stood before her, cheeks flushing instantly when she realized he'd witnessed her talking directly to a stone wall. He looked around her age but he was rather tall so she couldn't be sure. Regardless, she met his green-blue gaze with a wan smile, eyes squinting sheepishly.
"Hello yourself," she replied, lowering her wand and tucking it into the waistband of her oversized baggy jeans. She attempted to retain as much dignity as possible and loftily stuck her freckled nose in the air, although her tone wasn't unkind. "I am quite alright, thank you. I'm just on a sort of solo mission that I'd like to get back to as quickly as possible if you'll excuse me."
She gave him a single sharp nod and turned to continue when a thought suddenly struck her. If he was her year, it was highly possible that he too knew the Passage Revealing Charm and therefore, could make her job of scouring the entire castle a whole lot easier. At the very least, if he hadn't mastered the spell, he'd be able to scout out possible passageways, completing the task more efficiently and leaving ample time for dinner, if not lunch that day.
Avis hesitantly turned back around and glanced back up at him with a small anticipating smile. "Say," she began, "You wouldn't happen to have some extra time on your hands, would you?"
Perhaps just this once, her solo mission could be converted into a dual mission.
@Rafal Devereux
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Dissendi-Dumb
The first thing he notices is the eyes. A particular shade of blue, so icy and pale it can almost be grey. Yet somehow, the altogether effect is not unwelcoming - even when they are almost comically widened in shock and accompanied with a wand drawn at tremendous speeds.
"Woah, sorry!" In hindsight, maybe Rafal ought to have left a respectable distance between him and his jumpy friend here. Stumbling back hastily so as to avoid the stick of death, he holds his hands up in a gesture of benignity and tries to look as unthreatening as possible. It is easier than he expected.
As the girl tries to retain as much of her dignity as she can (though he suspects most of it has passed to the other side and shall never be found again), Rafal slowly lowers his arms and somewhat subconsciously, reaches a hand into his satchel to snake a grip around his wand. It is nothing against the girl - though frankly, she seems quite mental - but one can never be too sure.
A particular phrase she says jumps out at the Slytherin. A solo mission? He perks up slightly. Blimey, what fun! Now he absolutely has to know more. So much for studying. Mind buzzing with increasingly balmy possibilities and getting rapidly more stoked by the second, Rafal tries to figure out the best way to broach this undoubtedly delicate topic with Bonkers.
Or it turns out, he needn’t have worried. Rafal can scarcely believes his ears as the girl appears to suggest that he join her little operation, and only barely holds himself back from giving her a big wet kiss, square on the mouth. "Ohmygosh, yes! I do, most certainly!" There is a moment where the Slytherin, in great jubilation, makes to shake her hand in great overt enthusiasm, but luckily manages to stop himself ar the last second. It makes for a strange motion where Rafal looks to jerk his hand up and then almost immediately down.
He tries to pretend it did not happen. "So uh, what do we do?"
Interacting with @Avis Greymond
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
Dissendi-Dumb
tags: @Rafal Devereux | date: 11-10-2025 | fit: x
Avis desperately tried not to laugh at his very valid reaction of her pulling a wand on him. The stumble backwards had been rather funny but she was able to keep any audible humor in aside from an amused snort.
Yet she wasn't able to keep it in at his reaction to her suggestion of a dual mission. His enthusiasm startled her a bit but her look of shock slowly turned into a confused but friendly smile. His hand jerked up and down as if to reach out but it ended up just looking like an awkward dance move. She couldn't control it any longer.
Avis laughed, not at him but at the comical situation she'd found herself in with such an interesting character. She shoved her wand in her waistband and clasped her hands together.
"Brilliant," she said and leaned in a bit, voice lowering. "I"m searching for secret passageways and I'm planning on searching the whole school until I find one!" the Ravenclaw whispered in a tone suggesting conspiracy.
His next question was only too expected and she gave him a mischievous grin. "Any chance you know the passage revealing charm?"
It didn't matter either way. A partner would be useful regardless. Nodding towards the wall in front of her, she opened her mouth again, ready to relay instruction.
"Right, well, I'll go over this wall. You take the other one and call out if you find anything suspicious looking!" she said, turning towards her assigned wall. A last minute thought had her turn around again. "I'm Avis, by the way. You are?"
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Dissendi-Dumb
As the girl erupts into fits of boisterous laughter, Rafal’s initial countenance of incertitude slowly disappears, until he finds himself reluctantly smiling along as well. While he abhors being the subject of a joke, the Slytherin can tell that his new companion has no nefarious intentions, and besides - he really had been making a fool of himself.
He leans in confidentially, matching the movements of his associate. Listening with rapt attention, Rafal chooses to let out a dramatic gasp as she lays out the details of her plan. If they’re going to go on a secret mission, better act the part. It’s the best element.
Though in all seriousness, what he hears is an inspired proposition. The Passage Opening Charm is nothing new to the Slytherin, taught in History of Magic the previous year. But he had truthfully never considered making use of this particular spell thus far, and this is a phenomenal opportunity.
Nodding keenly to her inquiry, Rafal extracts the hand which had previously been readily placed on his wand and pays careful heed to the girl’s instructions. It’s her operation, after all. When that is done, he turns toward his designated wall and prepares to begin his undertaking. It is all rather daunting, but he believes they can do it.
Last minute words from the girl make him swivel back to the opposite direction. The second year feels like a bloody fidget spinner. "Oh, I’m Rafal." He gives his consociate a curt nod of acknowledgment. "Charmed to meet you, Avis."
Then almost as an afterthought, he adds haltingly, "We won’t get into trouble for this, will we?" As far as Rafal was aware, there are no rules against the exploration and subsequent discovery of secret passageways, but one could never be too sure of that kind of thing.
Interacting with @Avis Greymond
All your blues like a mood ring changing colours
Dissendi-Dumb
tags: @Rafal Devereux | date: 11-10-2025 | fit: x
Avis grinned at his immediate acceptance of her mission request...and at the fact that he indeed recalled the Passage Opening Charm from class last year.
As they prepared to begin their charms, Avis turned back towards the newly discovered named companion 'Rafal' and gave him a polite smile. "You as well, mate!" she responded cheerfully to his greeting.
She turned back towards an innocent-looking statue of a dancing amphibian and gave it a shooting glare. "I know you're hiding something, toad! Dissendium!" she mumbled to herself. In a flurry of excited nerves, the statue wiggled slightly as if to move aside but after a few seconds, it stuttered to a stop and Avis nudged it frustratedly with her clog. The Ravenclaw glanced up at Raf's question.
"Nah, why would we? They can't expel a Ravenclaw for being curious, can they?" she replied confidently but gave the boy a second dubious glance. "Or a Slytherin for being... ambitious?" the girl added with a weak smile. She hurried on. "Anyways, no one has any business stopping us on a Saturday afternoon."
She turned again and realized she'd reached the end of the corridor. The girl turned once again to face her companion. "Let's try the next floor up. I heard the dungeons and the highest floors have the most passages."
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau