HP-Hogwarts Story So Far

Transcript Six

Trying to Make Peace

 

Kat replied to Nimue: "I think you are right. The old diversion tactic. Maybe the bracelet is a good place to start." As Kat said this she heard the door of the common room open again. She turned to see who it was. She was in luck, it was Marvo. At least Nimue wouldn't have time to change her mind.

"Hey Marvo! I'm sorry to have appeared to ignore you like that. I didn't mean to offend you, and I did hear what you said about the bracelet. I just thought maybe we ought to try and think of Morticia for a change. And I'd still like you to inspect it, and make sure there is nothing really bad about it."

Kat waited for him to respond...

Marvo looks 'grumpy' as he walks from the room, but on hearing and seeing Kat he smiles. But then he sees Nimue standing by her, and pauses a moment, almost turning around. But he does not. He continues and stands on the opposite side of Kat to Nimue.

'Hi' he say [ obviously JUST to Kat ]

'Okay. I understand, I keep forgetting how 'temperamental' she can be'. He takes the Bracelet and ring from Kat and waves his wand over it, mumbling some spell. But as he dose so you may notice his eyes flicker over to Nimue a few times.

'Looks okay to me. I guess he didn't dare do anything to it after I had words with him'

He hands them back to Kat and smiles at her, still completely ignoring Nimue.

(Note from Marvo I did see Morticia's mail about the charm, but I guess even Marvo isn't perfect [grin])

Andy walked behind Marvo and suddenly caught up with the group.

"Hey Nimue." said Andy. "Hey Kat. What's going on? I overheard someone talking about the bracelet being charmed. Did it affect you at all?"

Kat notices that Marvo is trying to ignore Nimue and failing to some extent. She decides that bulls and horns are heading Marvo's way...Then Andy turns up. "Hi ya." she says. 'Umm,' she thinks. 'This could be handy. The corridor is only so wide.

"Andy, you are just the guy I need, I hope. Could you stay behind Marvo there and don't let him run away." As she say's this she slips behind Nimue and pushes her forward a little. Andy looks a little confused but complies.

"Marvo, don't take this the wrong way, but you two need to talk. With Andy stood behind you, you won't be able to storm off so easily. I know that you have both been effected by whatever happened while you were away that weekend, but I can also see that you both miss the friendship you had. Now, why don't you just acknowledge that Nimue is stood in front of you for a start?" Kat winks at Andy, and waits for the explosion.

Nimue and Marvo were caught! A minute or two dragged by with neither saying anything to the other but the air growing heavy with tension as if they were facing off for a magical duel.

Then Nimue broke the silence: "Hello, Malcolm". ......

The silence continues for what seems like forever. Marvo considers his option. Escape would be easy of course, but he did wish Dumbledore hadn't included an anti-Apparating spell in Hogwarts defences.

With Nimue's words Marvo keeps looking her straight in the eyes... [pause] 'Hello.... Elizabeth' His voice is flat and emotionless.

Again silence ....- both Kat and Andy looked to Marvo to continue yet all were caught off guard when Nimue suddenly said in the same deadly, flat voice with which she had dismissed Marcus (as 'sneaking round the halls Sarah' may well have overheard ;-) ) on the return from London some weeks before:

"I hope you realise that you've ruined the rest of my life."

Nimue's hand shot out and with a surprising strength pushed both Marvo and Andy aside. She rushed away down the hall.

Marvo stumbles, stepping on Andy's foot and pulling on his robe to stop himself falling.

As Nimue rushes away he looks over to Kat, a possible hint of moistness in his right eye.

'Well...' He says 'I don't think that helped'.

Andy cleared the way for Nimue and looked at Kat with sadness in his eyes. He and Kat were only trying to help Marvo and Nimue, but he didn't think they realised that. He looked back at Marvo with a 'it's not your fault' look.

"Should we follow her or...?" asked Andy. He really didn't know what to do. So he just stood there and waited for someone to say something.

* * *

Nimue felt her heart was going to break. She streaked through the corridors until she found the narrow stairway that led high up into the battlements where the hawk Bedivere had his perch. As she reached that place she suddenly remembered that of course she had sent him to London so she would find no solace in his company today. She looked out over the grounds and could see a number of folk gathering in the Quidditch field for some play. She though she saw both Sarah and Morticia warming up on their brooms along with a number of other students.

She sighed -- she had no wish to go back down. There was a small room sparsely furnished by the stairwell. A cloak lay on a pallet like bed and she decided to lie down for a while to clear her head and wrapped herself in the cloak.

Was it true what she had said to Marvo or was she blind and just running away from the truth?

* * *

Kat looked at both Andy and Marvo. "I guess we let her be for a while. I thought she was going to talk sensibly after I had spoken to her. Sorry Marvo. This is all my fault. I am just trying to help, but maybe I should have left you to it."

Kat also looked like she didn't know what to do. And now she was a little upset that it had gone so wrong too.

Marvo pulls down the front of his robe and smiles at Kat. 'Don't worry Kat, I know you were only doing what you think was right, and I wouldn't have expected anything less from you'

He takes her hand.

'Anyway, let's just forget about it for now, and think about the fun we will have at the Ball. We all need to relax a little I guess, I just hope everyone can be in a better mood by tonight'

He turns to Andy: 'And I know you'll not talk about this to anyone.. will you?'

Andy looked at Marvo. He didn't really understand what he wasn't supposed to tell. Everybody already knows there is tension between Marvo and Nimue, but he didn't even know what went on with them. Even still, he nodded his head in reassurance that he wouldn't tell a soul.

"How could you have possibly ruined her life?" asked Andy. This has been bugging him for some time and he figured that the two people he would tell were him and Kat.

Kat smiles at Andy and raises her eyebrows as if to say, yep, I'm game to see if we can extract some info... Kat smiles at Marvo encouragingly.

Then he could see a twinkle in her eyes as she said, "You don't want to tell us what all the arguing was about then?"

Kat didn't really expect he would spill the beans, but it would have been nice to know...

Andy looks back at Kat as if to say 'I don't think we're going to get any even if we tried'. But he still looked hard at Marvo waiting for an intelligent, yet straightforward answer.

Marvo turns and faces Andy.

Andy feels a wave of fear run through his body as Marvo speaks 'calmly' to him.

'I do not want to talk about it... and nor do you!' He continues to stare at Andy.

'What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' do you not you understand. Andrew!'

Marvo closes his eyes and looks away. 'I.. I'm sorry. It's just really complicated and I'd rather just get the Ball over with first'

He smiles at Andy. 'So, who are you going with?'

Marvo takes Kats hand and gives it a squeeze [because he thinks it might help her stop asking questions] :-)

Andy looks for Kat to say something, but she is also being silent. What could be so important to hide from them? Andy didn't know, but he wanted to find out.

Kat watches the exchange. Not knowing whether to agree with Andy because he is right or to back Marvo and let him stew in it a bit more...

Josslin had been watching Kat all morning, unbeknownst to her of coarse. Ghosts don't always have to be visible. and found it rather irritating that not only had she made only that feeble attempt to solve the riddle at breakfast but she was with *him* again. It was really beginning to grind on her nerves. So she decided to make herself known even if it involved letting more than already know of her continued existence.

Josslin stepped back into her silver glow while taking a small step forward to be(I'm guessing at everyone's positions in the hall) behind Marvo. She set up her arm so that it looked like her elbow rested on a ledge of some sort while holding up her head. So she waited..even though they all looked like a bomb could go off and no one would know...

Unaware they are being watched, Kat attempts to lighten the mood by turning to the Ball. "I didn't realises how silly I sounded being an Arabian princess until I tried to explain it this morning. She laughed. Well I could use a transfiguration spell on my costume, I'm getting quite good at them. Turn it into the baggy trousers and short top of a pirates outfit instead... Or shall I just stick to being your prisoner?"

Kat thought for a minute. "I need to get Joss' riddle sorted out though. I don't know how important it was, but she seemed quite keen to tell me."

'I Guess a Princess would be okay': Marvo was desperately trying to find a way to say Kat could not possibly come as a Pirate because 'Girls can't be Pirates!' But he decided to take the 'easy option' 'I think you'd make a better Princess than Pirate' He said with a smile.

Marvo was suddenly aware that Kat and Andy's attention was no longer focused on him. The hairs on the back of his neck started to prickle..and from the looks on their faces he half guessed who might be behind him.. He turned around and saw Joss floating there. He looked a little surprised despite having known Joss was still around. Still he managed to keep his voice even and non-challont.

"Hello, Joss. How nice of you to join us."

Kat was staring at Joss. Joss really didn't look impressed. Kat looked at her feet and went a little red. After all Joss had left her the riddle and she still had no idea what it meant... She felt a little guilty.

"Joss, I, Um, Well, don't look so pissed off with me. I'm useless at riddles. All I got so far is that I'm looking for something inside Hogwarts and well, you told me that before you gave me the riddle."

Kat shuffles a bit and looks guilty.

Andy looked at Joss and felt a little bit of guilt himself. Not being friends with Joss really hurt him when it came to the time of the death. It wasn't that him and Joss didn't like each other, it's just that they didn't talk at all. This somewhat explains why he wasn't seen for days after the tragedy. But Andy still stood up straight and awaited for someone else to give a reply.

Kat was right joss most definitely didn't look impressed but at what Kat said Joss's face didn't seem to change much just a simple lift of her brow she kept looking at them tell all noticed..which didn't take to long after Kat was talking to ...Joss?

Josslin looked at them especially Andy and Marvo for a moment, and notice hardly any surprise at seeing her..if any. Andy..was a different story(leaving open for you.)

"Very commented to our work aren't we Kat.." she made a significant gesture towards Kat and Marvo's hands. Then cleared her throat.. "Yes very committed. And here I was about to try and give you more to the riddle...." she seemed to think for a bit with a bit of venom in her gaze. "Well," she looked at Marvo again but none of them could discern what it was that she was seeing.

Friend, Foe, Hated, or even if it was an unspoken question. Joss seemed to be the only one to know that answer, she seemed to snap back for a moment and said. "He's got the right idea." She said casually but the words seemed to stick in her throat as she said them. She turned and floated speedily away into the wall. Unknown to the three was that she was off to cry, for many things, but mainly that she just wasn't able to live anymore to help her friend. Ah..death.

Kat scowled at Marvo after Joss had gone. She let go of his hand almost subconsciously. Her mood had obviously changed. "What were you thinking?" Kat demanded. "You were thinking something when Joss was staring at you. What was it?"

Marvo was still staring at the spot where Joss had been standing, feeling very perplexed as to why Joss seemed to dislike him so much.

'What?.. Oh, yes... well...' He seemed to be momentarily lost for words.

'Well.. It's nothing really, Nothing to much to do with the Riddle anyway, I was just thinking, well, whatever it is your looking for, well, perhaps, as it wasn't in there stuff, that is, maybe, just maybe, it could be around where she, well, you know, where she was .. erm.. Last. You know, where she 'died'. Perhaps she had it on her and had to hide it? or something. I'm not sure.'

While he talked he continued to look where Joss was, obviously trying to work out what was going on.

Andy was confused about what just happened so he gathered his thoughts. "Maybe Marvo's right," he said. "Maybe we should look where she died."

"I don't think we'll find it there, but we can go try if you like."

They both agreed. Kat led the way. They found the dark doorway that wasn't really there quite easily. Kat used her wand to produce a white spark that curled up to form a light on the ceiling. "Ok lets look around. There are not many places where it could be. I think it's a book we're looking for, but I'm not sure."

They looked in the dark corners, behind pictures, above the doorframe, just about anywhere they could, but there was no sign of anything except spiders and cobwebs.

Kat sighed. "I don't think it's here. This is too far away from where Joss told me the riddle." She pulled the piece of paper out again and looked at it.

"Those who look wide will not find, the thing that heals the blind,
Close to home is the treasured, so begin your search and be assured."

She mumbled it as she read. "The first line tells me to look close to where I am. As in close to where I was when she gave me the riddle. The second line has got to be what I'm looking for. I think it's a book, and the line is a clue to the title, maybe?"

After much searching Marvo finally agrees that there is nothing here. 'Maybe your right... in fact, thinking about it, I believe at the time that Joss was looking at me I was thinking about your costume, and where you may be keeping it in your Common Room.'

Marvo Blushes slightly but smiles.

Kat eyes light up. She completely misses the fact that Marvo is blushing. "Of course! How stupid. It has to be in Ravenclaw tower somewhere. I was in my dorm when I was first told the riddle. Plus, look it says 'close to home' and my current home is Ravenclaw tower! I bet it's in the common room. There are so many books in there."

Kat is sounding so exciting. "I guess you can't help me, but I'll catch you later." With that she gives Marvo a peck on the cheek and runs off.

Marvo's hand rubs his cheek and he blushes slightly, looking over to Andy. 'Girls!' An ackward silence follows

"Wa..." said Andy, but Kat had already run off. "She's gone." He looked at Marvo, and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry if I was a little straightforward today," said Andy. "I guess I just wanted to know what was going on. I just don't want you to get hurt, Marvo."

Marvo looks a little surprised at Andy, tempted to say 'why?'

But instead he smiles 'That's okay, forget it. none of us are quite ourselves at the moment.'

Another Ackward Silence 'Erm... Shall we go back to the 3rd Year Common Room? I have a hankering for a spot of Bacon' [smile]'

Andy thought he was going to be sick after hearing the word 'bacon'. He's never eaten so much bacon in his life than he has in the past week. "Sure, let's go," said Andy as him and Marvo strolled back to the 3rd year common room. "I hope Kat gets back soon to tell us if she's found anything."

Kat almost knocks Kalidor off his feet as she runs round the corner. As she turns and mouths an apology to him, he calls after her. "You couldn't tell me how to get to the Slytherin tower could you? I'd better find out if Winifred is alright?"

He wonders to himself if she has the time to answer...

"Oh, sorry!" Kat hadn't seen him there as she came round the corner. "Um, the Slytherin common room? It's in the dungeons somewhere. Er, if you head towards the potions classroom, then go down to the left, opposite to Snape's office. Keep following the cobwebs, and I think it's behind the statue of some dark wizard. I've never been there myself, but the closer you get the more of Slytherin's you find. I believe if you press the nose of the statue it rings a doorbell or something.... Hope that helps, got to dash..."