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[Cecile Bloch]

The small blond girl skipped down the steps to the dungeons. Was it off limits? Absolutely. Had the older Hufflepuffs warned her against the evils of Slytherins? Of course. Was that the best possible way to get Cecile to go somewhere. Yes. Plus, she was convinced there was a dragon down there. Instant win to get her down there.

She still didn't know how to light up her wand, so instead she held a lighted candle. Whether she was supposed to have it or not, she didn't really know, but even Cecile knew better than to go exploring in a dungeon in the dark. Luckily there were magical torches along the main path, but she would never find anything if she stuck to that. If there was a dragon or treasure it would be much further down, otherwise everyone would find it and it wouldn't be a secret.

Cecile took a few random turns, but rather than risk getting lost she made sure to scribble down a map with her free hand against the wall. It wasn't as much fun as being lost and getting rescued, but at least this way if she did find treasure she'd be able to get back. Plus, it was like playing at pirate! She was inventing a back story for her new pirate persona, Captain Cecile, the Scourge of the Seas, when she heard a noise and squeaked. Of course she had been just in the middle of composing a sea battle between Captain Cecile and the ship of undead and evil pirates.

[Maddock Glynn]

Freetime, finally.  It seemed the school itself tried to suck all the fun out of things.  With the exception of Flying class there was little time to explore the castle or even see it from different angles.  Now he was set.  His homework and reading had all been caught up.  Not that he retained much, all those words blurring together.  He preferred much more hands on training.  Leaving out the Slytherin Common Room door, Maddock decided to take a look.  He had heard so many rumors lately about Dungeon Number Thirteen from the older students and now he had the chance to see it for himself.

As he walked along the stone floors, he heard footsteps ahead of him.  Peering around the corner there was a normal yellow light.  extinguishing his own source he started slowly to follow behind.  Careful not to let his own footfalls be heard, he continued around the corner.  It was his goal to be out of site from this...this.....girl?  It was.  This sneaking person looked to be a girl and the same one he had met in Flying Class.  That was a fun day.  Now his curiosity was perked, where was this little Puffler going?

A few stones had crumbled along the hall, he could tell not by seeing them but by walking over them.  The uncomfortable lumps under the souls of his shoes begged to be scrapped away as he walked, a single hand trailing along the wall.  A thought occurred to him.  He leaned over and picked up a smalled bit from the ground and tossed it forward.  He wanted to make Cecile think something had skittered ahead of her and further deflect the attention from him.

[Cecile Bloch]

In front of her? Cecile paused and lifted her candle higher. There were probably mice and rats in the castle, that had to be what it was. Unless it was a giant spider. There had been one last year what was to say there weren't more? Uh-ohhh. Or maybe it was just a dragon. 'Please don't be a giant spider, please anything but a giant spider!' She had this thing about spiders, ever since a giant one had crawled over her foot when she was little she had hated them.

Chances were it was just a stupid lost cat. Or a Slytherin. Good thing she had her wand, she wondered what would happen if she tried to turn a person into a needle? Only one way to find out. After taking a few steps forward and nearly tripping over some small rocks, she turned around scowling. "I can hear you," she called. "So come out." And if no one was there she was talking to the wall. That was okay though! If no one was there there was no one to think she was crazy and if someone was there maybe she'd freak them out enough to get them to come out. It was a win-win situation!

Oh right, wand. Where had she put it? She tugged on her sleeve, but nothing. Uh-ohhh. In her pocket? Behind her ear? What had she done with it?

[Maddock Glynn]

This was too perfect.  A little lost Puffler in the catacombs of the dungeons.  The first year Slytherin let go of the rock and it skittered across the floor.  It made a quick skitter of stone against stone as it raced along.  The idea of tricking this little girl who spoke with a bout of spunk got the better of him.  This was too easy.

The girl jumped, no doubt she was scared out of her wits.  Maddock enjoyed this a little too much.  If you asked him, he'd say proudly that she had entirely too much nerve to be just wandering around the dungeons alone.  One might find something here they might regret...like a rat or a spider or maybe even some dark mage...since no one dared venture here.  Thumbscrew torture had been outlawed some time ago, much to Ogren's dismay.

Maddock's prey took a step forward, but then tricked him.  She was so quick to turn around, that he had to duck back in a hurry.  His shoes scratched the floor making a horrible disturbance in the silence.  It echoed lightly, sound bouncing off the walls.  How could he be so stupid!  He realized he faced a worthy advesary....granted she was a Hufflepuff, but a smart one.  It was a rare find.

Hearing her call oiut that she could hear him, he had to fight the urge to stay hidden or show himself.  If he stayed hidden, she might never know who was following her...but it seemed a little cowardly.  If he showed himself, it would be an easy acceptance of his defeat.  The choice was hard.  The more time  he stood there thinking about what to do, the more it seemed, at least to him, that he was not living up to his house.  He took a deep breath and finally stepped, maybe he could salvage the matter.

"Did you get lost?  The kitchens are the other direction."  He pointed back the way they had both come from over his shoulder.  It was a most cunning attempt to divert attention to the fact that he was discovered.

[Cecile Bloch]

Discreetly, Cecile continued to look for her wand, but otherwise she tried to look calm. If worse came to worse she could always set what or whoever was following her on fire with her candle. It might not be the best solution, but it was better than getting eaten. She didn't doubt that all types of monsters were lurking down here, including Slytherins!

Finally she found her wand, stuck in one of the too many pockets in her robes. Why wizards felt compelled to make things so complicated, she didn't know. She only knew it was going to drive her to insanity, probably sooner rather than later. She held it loosely by her side, ready to do something, what she didn't know, if she had to.

When the person finally stepped forward she made a face. Glynn. Why did it have to be him? "I am not lost," she informed him. "And I'm not looking for the kitchens. I'm exploring." She crossed her arms, forgetting about her wand and leaving it sticking up at a crooked angle. Oops. She should have planned that just a little bit better, but too late now. She would just have to pretend she didn't notice. Maddock probably would, but if she didn't act like she noticed maybe he wouldn't mention it.


((OOC: Sorry this took so long, I didn't see you had posted until a couple days ago ><))

[Maddock Glynn]

(my turn to appologize...I overlooked this for way too long.  Didn't even see it at all.  Silly me.  bad sarah bad)

Maddock grinned.  This was almost perfect.  The two of them alone in a place where no one would stick their nose in where it didn't belong.  The girl crossed her arms and it looked like she was offering another obstacle between the two of them.  Immediately he put her on the defensive.
"Exploring?  What would be down here to explore?"  Maddock asked with a bit of lilt.  If nothing else, her crossed arms just meant she would be that much slower with her wand.

"What have you found so far...in your exploring?"  Maddock asked another question, looking to Cecile with a bout of arrogance twinkling in his eyes.  Oh yes, today was a great day and this moment was perfect.  Stepping out from the darkness of the distance he closed the span between the two of them, the whole time keeping a close eye on the awareness of Cecile's wand.

"So."  The seconds ticked by.  "Were you planning on using that?"  A single eyebrow raised in question gesturing towards her wand.

[Cecile Bloch]

This boy was lacking imagination. No wonder he was in Slytherin. "If I knew what there was to explore I wouldn't need to bother," she told him speaking very slowly like she would to someone very stupid. "That's why it's called exploring." She glared at him as if daring him to contradict her. Explorers were her heroes, regardless of where they were going. If Hogwarts didn't work out maybe she would run away to sea to be an explorer and discover some new continent! There had to be more out there that everyone else had missed.

She shrugged. "Rocks. Silly snakes," she looked at him pointedly. It wasn't as mean as the first name she had thought of to call him, but since he was between her and the way out she thought it seemed smart not to annoy him too much. She was positive she could take him in a fight, but she was in the middle of the dungeon, the heart of Slytherindom. Who knew how many Slytherins were crawling around down here ready to try to eat her?

Cecile looked at her wand then back at Maddock. She uncrossed her arms to spin her wand around in a circle trying to look nonchalont about it. It was all good for her, Maddock had given her a chance to get ready. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not sure yet." That sounded so cryptic, she was proud of herself.

[Maddock Glynn]

Maddock groaned inwardly at Cecile's intial comments.  She was being a snit all ready.
"All I was doing was asking you a question.  There's no need to be a plunkety mite over it.  I was going to act as your Tour Master, but now I'm not sure if you deserve to get lost down here or not."  He crossed his own arms to match her stance as she looked tight and uncomfortable.  

Maddock was trying to be nice.  Yes, it was hard for him especially with such a hard nosed girl.  The boy wasn't always a mean pratt, he did have moments of just being a real person.  It was just often hard to be the nice guy, when others continuously place him in a hard place to wriggle out of.  And Cecile was one of those people.

She tried to look nonchalant with her wand still out.  Maddock pondered if he made her feel out of place.  Thee was a momentary bout of weakness, where he was like a real boy for an instant.  That moment faded as he contemplated letting her wonder the catacombs alone.
"I can leave if you are looking to finish your exploring alone."

[Cecile Bloch]

Was he being, nice? Maddock? Maddock Glynn? Nice? No way. This had to be some elaborate snakey trap to eat her. Cecile looked at him suspiciously. No boy had ever been nice like that to her before. Or when they did pretend to be nice it was to try to throw her in a duck pond or something equally horrid. And her father wondered why she didn't get along with anyone at any of the functions he took the family to. The girls were stupid and the boys were mean. Her own twin brother was mean! That's why she got along with the London gutter snipe boys, they were just boys and did stupid boy things, but not because they were nasty. Just because they were stupid  boys.

"A plunkety mite?" Cecile asked raising her eyebrows. She had yet to master the art of raising just one, but she spent at least ten minutes a day practicing. It was one of those skills she felt was important. "What does that even mean?" She kept looking at him suspiciously.

"You can come if you want." She wasn't sure why she offered. Maybe because she was willing to give him once chance to prove he wasn't trying to push her down some dark pit. Of course you only got one chance at that. Once she was pushed down a dark pit it would be a little late to stop trusting someone. "I don't mind."

[Maddock Glynn]

The Huffelpuffler had the most crazy look on her face.  Cecile looked shocked.  Sure, Maddy might have sounded like he was being nice and maybe he was.  Was that really such a moment for the Daily Profit?  Well, if she hadn't made such a big deal of it, he wouldn't even be thinking about it...and now that he was thinking about it there was a moment where he regretted offering his assistance.  The deed was done and he had an obligation to stick to it now.  It didn't mean he couldn't throw rocks at her later.

"Yes.  A plunkety mite.  Do people not speak English anymore?  That's what I said."  He harumphfed as matter of fact.  He was not about to give her an answer as to what the individual words meant.  If she didn't know then he was that much more in the know than she.  He crossed his own arms to say he wasn't giving any further information on the matter, she was just going to have to figure it out on her own.  Surely she couldn't be that dense to not be able to figure out it was an insult.

"Well, maybe I don't want to go with you any more..."  He antagonized as he followed behind her.  He wasn't about to be left alone in these old and damp corridors.  He had heard the rumors the older Slytherins were proud of offering to keep the younger ones in line.  There were stories of wild pixies that roamed these places in the ground and under the castle.  He wasn't about to be caught alone and in the darkness here.  No sir, he was going to have a witness if nothing else.

[Cecile Bloch]

Still... what in all the world was a plunkety mite? Nothing good obviously, but Cecile wasn't sure just how bad it was! How was she supposed to know what insult to fire back if she didn't know the caliber of the one directed at herself? He had to be making that up, but just to be sure she would have to find out. Someone must know, the Hufflepuffs were good at insulting people and if worse came to worse she would find an older Gryffindor to ask, they were normally friendly enough.

"I'll have you know I speak English just fine," she informed him haughtily. "And I can insult you in French and you'll never be the wiser. So ha! I win!" Now wasn't exactly a good climate for admitting to any Frenchness, but Cecile tended to forget in the heat of the movement, especially since she had grown up in England. Now a days she mostly used her French for insulting people or writing secret notes to Genevieve about insulting people. It was the language of love and Cecile loved to insult people so it was a win-win situation for her!

She rolled her eyes as Maddock fell into step behind her complaining. "You know you do! Have you been down here before?" It was probably better to have someone along, even if he was an evil Slytherin who would probably feed her to the first dragon they saw.  At least she would have someone to shove in back of her if a giant wild snake started to chase them. Cecile would have no qualms about tripping Maddock and letting something eat him so she could get away.

[Maddock Glynn]

"Yes, yes, yes.  You win, because you can speak French."  Maddy agreed with her to placate her outrageous ego.  He had to wonder if she knew if a lot of people spoke French.  Up until lately it had been the language of ettiquette and some business.  But to let her have her moment in the sun, he was contented to just let her have that one.  Welsh was a whole nother language to itself and he was welsh, although the Anglican laws were governing themselves nicely over his own lands.  Speaking Welsh wasn't too far out of his leaugue, seeing how his Grandmother was a proud Welshwoman, herself.  Maybe he would surprise her one day with some sort of insult in his own family heritage.  And if this was to be a point game of languages, his was certainly less common than hers.  Not to mention the Headmaster had a Welsh name.  Maddy couldn't be certain of the man's actual origina, but the double 'L's' gave it all away.  As far as this Slythering Salamander was concerned, there were only 3 people in the school that had a chance of actually knowing what he might say.  To him, that meant he could get away with a very colorful statement that would not be acceptable anywhere else.  ~Ha!  He wins!~  He'd be sure to remind her of that one day, when the future seemed brighter.

"Me?  Down here?"  The question was curious.  They both had common rooms in the Dungeon Levels of the school, but they were both First years.   Noone he knew had really ventured into the unlit halls.
"Of course I have.  How do you think I found you.  I was coming back from the Lakeroom, when I saw you."  He lied.  Out his teeth and blatantly over his tongue.
"Be careful, though.  Pixies and giant bats lurk through here.  So you'll have to stop your whining here shortly."  So he added a bit of color into his lies.  He wasn't that far off the mark, who knew what lived down here in the nethers of the castle.  It was over 700 years old by now.  Whole families of vampires and cavedwellants could be here and no one would even know.

[Cecile Bloch]

Ha! He had admitted it. She would go back to her common room and record it somewhere so she would never ever forget this moment. Not that she would anyway, but then history would remember when Maddock Glynn admitted that Cecile Bloch was right. Wonderful! Wonderful! It could possibly be the best day ever. Well maybe right after the day she got her Hogwarts letter.

Was he serious? If so maybe she would be impressed. Maybe. Probably not. She would try really hard not to be. "You were behind me," she said suspiciously, so this Lakeroom thing wouldn't have been this deep." There had only been one passage by the time they met up and of course just as she said that a fork in the road appeared. She perked up at the mention of pixies and giant bats. "Really? I hope we see some. I haven't gotten to see any good magical creatures!" She couldn't to start Care of Magical Creatures class next year.

Cecile stopped when they reached the small circular room with the two passages branching in opposite directions. "Which way?" she wondered aloud.

(Life and school suck... sorry I keep taking so long... don't hurt me?)

[Maddock Glynn]

(oh hush ...I completely understand.  no need to appologize)

The look on Cecile's face didn't need any explanation and Maddock was delighted she didn't offer one.  She looked like the boy who's pet rat just won the prized raced.  He could kill right now if she gloated any further.  That's all he needed was this little Puffler's world just moved favorably in her direction.  Cecile was all ready unbarable enough, now there would be no living with her.  Thank Merlin's Beard and Nose and Robes that he didn't.  He was a Slytherin he had no need to gang about in the Yellow Commons.

On top of that noise, now the girl was calling his bluff about pixies and bats and his whole reason for joining her.  ~Great!~  He thought with an annoyance.  There was no way he was going to get out of this now.  Pressing on they came to a round cavernous room, some sort of stone antichamber.  Beyond the room, there was a division and fork in the corridor.  The next thing he heard was Cecile asking which direction to go.  There was definitely no way out of the mess he put himself in.  Maddy knew Cecile was testing him so she could see some pixies.
"Umm, well."  He paused trying to come up with a reasonable excuse.  Dinner time?  No, that wouldn't work it was no where near that part of the day.  Maybe, there's a gathering planned outside that he all ready gave his word to attend?  He sighed, that wouldn't work either.
"Let's go right."  If all they did was take passages to the right, maybe it'll be easier to find their way out when they needed to leave.  It wasn't until after he gave the order to go through the right fork that he heard the feingt squeeks of something beyond...in the darkness.  

Maybe his guess was right after all...

[Cecile Bloch]

"Okay then," Cecile said agreeably. "But you better walk next to me so you don't run away." He was a Slytherin after all, the Sorting Hat hadn't said anything about them being brave and who knew? He might be leading her into a trap so he could feed her to a dragon (or Ogren) for dinner! It was possible, but Cecile was willing to take that risk. It was in the name of exploration after all. If Columbus had given up because he was afraid of monsters or sailing off the end of the world (which was just silly, everyone knew it was round just like everyone knew there were seven planets) why no one would have ever discovered the New World and everyone would be stuck in the Old-Used Up one!

It was darker down this passage. Cecile held her candle up, trying to decide if she ought to try to light up her wand. Last time she had tried it hadn't gone well, she had nearly blown her eyebrows off, but if it stayed dark like this they might need it.

Only a few steps in the squeaking started. "Do Pixies sound like that?" she whispered holding the candle up higher. She didn't think they did... what was down there?

[Maddock Glynn]

"Walk next to you?  Are you kidding?  You're the girl.  You're supposed to walk behind me."  That seemed like just the right words to get under the girl's skin.  This was becoming a right fun game between the two of them.  They were insulting one another with gusto and glee.  Although he didn't know if she minded it or not, he didn't care either.  He was having fun.

"Then again...I coould be the gentleman and let you go first.  You certainly seem to have the disire to be bold.  Maybe you will defend me from the fiendish monsters ahead."  He said with the hint of a devilish grin behind his voice.  The high pitched screaches shead of them seemed to lessen as they moved further along the tunnel.  It was as if the things ahead were aware someone was  coming to visit them and they hated visitors.

"What's that...over there."  He pointed out a small darker area in the all ready darkened wall.  Moving towards it, Maddock gestured for the light Cecile was carrying.  A small breeze seemed to be finding its way through an opened area as if the dark spot he had found was more like a hole to another area.
"Why don't you stick you hand in there, Cecile, and see what you pull out."  A small chuckle  could be heard from the boy as he waited to see if she would fall for such a trick.

[Cecile Bloch]

Cecile rolled her eyes. "Okay then fearless leader, you want to go first and get eaten by pixies and dragons?" He was a coward and not even a gentleman. You could be sure Cecile would never marry him. She was going to marry a dashing pirate who would have adventures with her and never ever walk behind. She wouldn't let him walk in front of her either, but he certainly wouldn't trail behind her like a lost duckling! He would be brave and strong and named Finn McGill or maybe Dead-Eye Duncan or Jack, a proper pirate name.

She spun her wand around. "That's not gentlemanly," she declared. "Maybe if you held the door open for me, but you probably wouldn't do that either." No he's probably slam it in her face and hope she ran into it. "And I do thank you, although the jury is still out on whether I would protect you or feed you to the monster. The poor thing must be hungry." She grinned wickedly. She was leaning more towards feeding Maddock to whatever they found. No one had seen them together, it wouldn't be her fault!

The hole he pointed too wasn't very big, but Cecile wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "I will," she said firmly. Rather than entrusting Maddock with her wand or her light she stuck the handle of her wand in her mouth and hoped she didn't set her head on fire or put teeth marks in it. She would never hear the end of that. She stuck her hand in, just a little and an idea popped into her head. She forced a scared expression onto her face. "I'm stuck!"

[Maddock Glynn]

Maddock grinned at the frustration he was causing Cecile.  And now it sounded as if she agreed with him and his conventional wisdom.
"Certainly.  Just remember to duck behind me when you get scared."  He started out with no fear into the darkness before she stopped him.  Now she was calling him ungentelmanly.
"Of course I would the door open for you.  That's what young men are supossed to do!"  He declared outspoken enough to sound as if the whole idea she presented was just not possible for him.  He would most definitely hold a door open for a young Lady, assuming he found one.  Even if he thought of Cecile worth holding the door open for, there was never any  words of wisdom to let the door not hit the girl in the backside.  The idea made him smirk a little.

Cecile mentioned the possibility of the monster ahead was hungry.  Maddock nodded with the devil still hanging about.
"It's a good thing I'm going in first then, he'd starve if you were his first meal."  Obviously, he made mention of how skinny and awkward the girl looked.

Taking his dare, Cecile moved in to take his dare and stick her hand into the dark hole.  As she started shouting about how she was stuck, Maddock blinked shocked.  He never imagined something would happen here....at the school.  He might even get more points deducted from Slytherin if he had to go and get a teacher for help.  Maddock panicked and took in a deep breath.
"Are you serious?"  He moved over quickly to help the girl get her hand out.  Maybe something was in there holding her stuck....or what if there really was a monster?  He reached over to her to pull her free with a hard tug.

[Cecile Bloch]

"Dream on Maddy," Cecile said. As if she would ever hide behind him! Never! That would never, ever, happen. Never. Ever. She was absolutely firm on that. She was willing to jump off a cliff first or even into a snake pit.

She snorted, completely unladylike, but who was going to tell? And even if Maddock did tell who was going to believe him? No one! Or at least no one who mattered. The best part about boarding school was that her mother didn't get updates when she broke the rules, just so long as no professor found out. She had never gone so long without a lecture, freedom was sweet indeed. "I know, I wouldn't want the poor thing to go hungry. So I'll send you in, you have plenty of meat on your bones." Two could play at this game.

He did believe her! He started tugging on her arm and she couldn't help the gleeful giggle that burst out. "Fooled you!" she crowed pulling her hand free and wiggling her entirely intact fingers at him. "Come on, let's finish exploring!"

[Professor Penvellyn]

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