Take a breather, and relax [Vroom/Open]

[viola]

Late January Sometime

One would probably think that taking a break and relaxing was an easy task, but for a woman like Annemarie van Aller, relaxing never came easy. There was always something to do, or something to be dealt with. As of late, if it wasn’t Xander or any problems he seemed to enjoy causing for himself, it was someone else in need, a student misbehaving, classes needing to be set out and taught, and so on and so forth. It never ended. And as she made her way into the staff lounge, she thought that at least this would be the place of reckoning; in other words, this would be her sanctuary from the hectic life she seemed to be living more alone than with others every day.

It could have been the fact that she was keeping a lot to herself as of late, for whom did she really have to talk to at Hogwarts, or it could have been the fact that Annemarie had never been good at making friends that weren’t already friends of the boyfriend she had at the time, or someone that was connected elsewhere to her. Her networking skills were off, and in some ways Annemarie had always liked it better that way. Less people knowing her business was the less anyone would have against her at a later time. Even having the training she did, she knew and was accustomed to the ways of human nature. Just because God said something, didn’t mean humans were going to follow it. Just because something seemed to be right and moral, didn’t mean everything was right and moral for others.

Sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in the lounge, Annemarie leaned her head back and closed her eyes. It was just that time of life where she wished everything would slow down slightly so that she could possibly catch up. It was a ridiculous time of the year, and with the Dragon Pox finally dying down a bit, with only a few cases still springing up here or there, Annemarie finally thought she could just sit and relax and rest her eyes a bit. Sleeping at night had become a thing of the past, and during class was unacceptable. But in the lounge she could find it easier to just be…

Or, at least she thought she could…

[Mr. Vroom/Open]

[Dante Vroom]

He paced outside the room, wondering when B would be showing up. It was still a little bit early, about five minutes before he told the kid to show up. But Dante was getting impatient so rather than pace around and run into someone outside, he decided to go in. If he left the door open he hoped the youngster would figure it out on his own. He turned and quickly made his way to the door.

Taking the final step toward the door before putting an ear to it and listening he exhaled. The door was thick, and he probably could not have heard anything through it anyway. So the gesture was mostly for show. He had a student to impress after all, even if he wasn't there yet. “Now you know the plan,” he whispered to himself, “have to make this quick.”

He pulled on the door, but it did not open. Pushing on the door gave a more effective result, as it opened slowly. He did not open it far, just enough to get threw the crack. In an attempt to be silent as he entered, the door was old, and would probably creek if it went any farther. And just like that, he was in. It was almost to easy.

And before him, a room that looked a little worse for wear compared to what he had thought it would be. But at first glance it looked empty, so he took several steps in, scanning the room for places to set fireworks or a trip wire. He tossed his backpack of tricks over toward a couch sitting by the wall.

Figuring the place was empty he began to more casually case the room. As he turned toward one particular chair he froze. Were those shoes at the end of that chair? Shoes connected to legs? This could be a problem....

[Eaden Valo]

Finally! A day off! Eaden was so happy today that if she needed to make a patronus it would be the best one ever. Even though she was taking NEWT classes and had lots of homework she still finished it all in record time. Not that she rushed through any of it, she was just very good at what she did. So this particular day was set up so that she didn't have to do anything.

She spent the earlier part of her day in the library, perusing the shelves to see what this school had to offer. After that she had a little fun with her 'special gift' and walked around the school. Even though no one knew who she was just being someone else who didn't go here gave her a thrill. Soon after that got boring she transfigured back to her normal state and found herself near the Staff Antechamber. And the door was open.

Eaden crept forward, trying to get a better look. Trying to be as quiet as possible she looked through the crack. She couldn't see much, but the staff room here looked a heck of a lot nicer then the one at Durmstrang. That she was sure about. Outside she moved around a little trying to see the other side of the room.

She noticed a boy standing there by himself. He looked quite mortified at what he was looking at. Eaden got on her toes and tried to see what he saw. A teacher. Her eyes widened a little as she saw this predicament unfold in front of her. She couldn't exactly help the boy standing there without getting him and herself in trouble. She just stood there, waiting for the time when she could go in there to see what he was doing.

(alright if I join?)

[Desideria Tapia]

Potions had been brewing since early December and she was just about out of steam to brew anymore of the kind she would need for the dragon pox. Medicines, lotions, all of it, she was nearly done. There were plenty of vials on hand and enough in case a follow up outbreak occurred among a few students that were missed the first time around, and her cauldrons were no empty. Even the one where she'd put a lot into work, that was gone. Her months of careful studying were wasted, down the drain, all because her focus could not go to the cauldron enough to allow her to careful examine that potion.

Oh well, starting from square one wasn't so bad, and she still had all those other notes to compare to, it just meant a lot of wasted energy, effort, and ingredients. This wasn't the first time she'd lost something of the sort and it surely wouldn't be the last, but it didn't make the sting any less than it was.

A nice break in the staff lounge would be appreciated at this time, especially since the woman hardly had enough time to sit and relax the last few weeks, trying to make sure she didn't mess up any of the potion batches. The second one was the most difficult, but she needed to be precise with all of them.

However, as the Hufflepuff Head of House made her way toward the room, she thought she saw a student standing outside, probably waiting for one of the Professors or something, but when she got closer, she noticed the young lass was the new one in her class. Quietly, the portly woman crept up on the young girl, trying to figure out what was going on and why she was shifting about as she was. It only took a moment longer to see a young man inside, and ws that van Aller?

Swiftly, Desideria's hand shot out and grabbed the shirt collar of the girl. Why she was standing outside of the room, shifting as she was, the potions professor didn't know, but that young man was creeping around inside while her friend was laying awfully still for Annemarie.

With a sharp look, the woman turned dark orbs to the young girl in her clutch, a look of warning and one to tell her to be silent above all else. Something was fishy, and she was going to find out why.

(No one can stop you when it's open deary)

[viola]

Something was heard, but Annemarie didn’t budge from her spot thinking that whatever it was could be ignored for the time being. Students knew well enough to leave the staff room be, and if it was another staff member they had every right to be in there as well as she. This was probably the safest place Annemarie could rest her eyes, other than her own office and quarters. And so, she remained seated in the seat she had chosen, a soft yawn escaping her and she raised her hand over her mouth to catch it quickly. She hummed softly to finish the yawn, and sunk further into the chair.

Another noise heard, sounding as if something had fallen, but when Annemarie opened her eyes slightly, her exhaustion took over and they were shut just as quickly. The Slytherin Head of House had managed to doze off, and her eyes opening were only nerves reacting to the noise, rather than her actually comprehending it. At the time, the other body in the room was safe from discord. Safe from Annemarie van Aller, and her known and hated ways. She didn’t have the rumors about her because they were false, and frankly, at that moment the student was safe…

Minutes past and Annemarie’s body lay still as she dreamt to herself. Sick students, her love life (if that’s what one would want to call it), the fact that students disrespected her constantly still here and there and above all else, how much she was finding it more and more likable at the school. Yes, likable. Annemarie was actually beginning to enjoy herself at Hogwarts, and why, only her dreams could tell. But then her dreams took a turn for the worse, as one aspect of life became that of pure fear and terror. It was something she’d never remember when she awoke, but she could hardly contain herself as she slept. Yelling out loud in pure horror, Annemarie actually scared herself out of her deep sleep, knowing she’d really yelled out and hoping that there was no one in the staff lounge to hear her. How embarrassing! Annemarie shot up from her seat sitting straight up and holding herself shaking her head. “Oh! Oh, my!” she yelled out, her voice shaking and her brow sweating a cold sweat.

It was just a dream, she told herself as she tried to convince herself, and also tried to remember what it was without crying. She knew it was just awful, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what was so awful about it. Sobbing slightly she continued to rub her arms. It was just a dream.

(It’s your house points.)

[Eaden Valo]

What was going on in there? Eaden thought to herself. She shifted her body so that she was farther from the door, as not not knock into it. She silently breathed out, not making a peep. The scene that was unfolding confused her profusely. She was pretty sure students weren't supposed to be in the staff room, but this boy walked in there freely.

Her light eyes shifted to the teacher. She didn't look too well from Eaden's view. Kind of like when you're in the middle of an unpleasant dream. The more she stared she saw that it was the Muggle Studies Professor. Even though she didn't really like the teacher she felt a little bad for her. Since Eaden was so into what was happening in the staff room she didn't even hear the person walking up behind her.

Eaden felt a hand grab onto her collar and pull her back a little. She didn't even have time to react to the pulling. Her eyes turned to the person that grabbed her. It turned out to be her potions professor. The look the Professor gave her spoke louder then words. Keep quiet. Eaden nodded quickly, not looking back. What had she gotten herself into?

[Dante Vroom]

When the feet did not move he felt a little more confident in his ability to sneak around the room. So he took several more careful steps, inching over to see who was sitting in the chair. When he saw van Aller his heart stopped. The professor would probably kill him for being the room. Thankfully though, from what he could tell she was out cold, asleep. How fortunate for Dante, he could go about his work and with a professor already in the room, it brought some new ideas to mind.

First though, he had to make his way to the backpack he had thrown previously. Carefully he made his way toward the backpack. Inching his way to the backpack he grabbed it and opened the flap slowly. Thankfully it was not the standard zipper style backpack, instead it had buttons holding the cover on. He would have to work around the fact that there was someone else in the room.

He was tempted to cover her hand with shaving cream, but if van Aller was not sound asleep he would be caught, it was to risky. He produced a several yards of fishing line he quickly tied one end to the couch the backpack had landed on. Every step had to be silent, nothing could be left to chance, his heart was racing as his ears were listening for the slightest hint of any rogue sound.

He reached a tall, thin object, looking like a coat rack, perfect. He tied the other end of the string to the pole, high up on the object. If anyone were to brush the line, it would come crashing down. But, this was not enough for him. He pulled a small jar out of the backpack he had placed over one shoulder earlier. Opening the jar he scooped out a small amount of green gel, and placed the mass at the very top of the pole. On impact with the ground the gel was explosive, so it would make a loud bang and some smoke. Something like flash powder in a gel form.

What to do next, he wondered to himself. He looked back to the form in the chair, still unchanged since he first noticed it. Only a few brief minutes had passed, and he was still closer now to the professor than he was when he first noticed she was there. He could hear, sobbing? She was awake after all, his heart skipped a frantic beat, this was a real challenge.

A nervous smile ran across his face, if this could be pulled off it would be the greatest prank he had pulled. Tying a second string to the pole he began searching for another location to connect to the series of pranks. He had no time to think about where B would be any more. The fact that the door was still slightly open was something he would deal with later, for now he had to stay focused.

(welcome to the fun)

[Desideria Tapia]

((gah! So sorry dearies))

The yell issued from her friend made Desideria jump. What had that boy just done? Still unwiliing to just bust in, not sure what was taking place in the room, the woman peered in a little further, looking through the glasses perched on the end of her nose, trying to remember if she knew the boy. Unfortunately, it was one she didn't recognize, one that she hadn't had, probably someone who didn't bother with passing the NEWT exam for her class. Lazy boy, but he had enough time to be sneaking around in the Professor's lounge? How ridicululous and absurd.

The dark orbs traveled around the room, looking for any signs that would hurt the sleeping woman, Desideria found none with a quick sweep of her steady gaze. What was that boy doing? Pulling the young girl closer, hand most definitely not releasing the collar of her shirt in case she was able to give information. The lookout, that's what she was, and she wasn't doing her job very well at all.

The sobs worried Desideria as she took a small step in the room, quiet as a church mouse, to keep all distractions from her and the girl. Even if she had to pull a wand, this boy wasn't getting away easily, and this girl would be telling what was happening if asked. The boy was doing something, making movements that she didn't recognize, and she was going to make sure, personally, that Annemarie was alright.

[viola]

Wet eyes, probably puffy and red, Annemarie whipped them and covered them shaking her head. There was no way she could remember what happened... possibly something about Xander? It could have been, for she hadn't seen him in a bit, but she didn't know. It could have been a variety of things that were troubling her at that moment. A noise heard, and Annemarie instantly stopped crying... unable to move or look behind her just in embarrassment that someone may have heard her yell out... let alone the fact that she was a crying mess.

Clearing her throat she stood, unaware of what was happening in the room behind her and started to gather her bag that lay on the floor next to her. Again, she didn't dare look behind her, and when she started moving toward the door way, she stepped on something that got caught in her foot. It was then she realized that there was someone else in the room, but it definitely wasn't a professor. However, before another word could be said, things started to happen that Annemarie was completely caught of guard by.

Another scream, was all she wrote.

[Dante Vroom]

Dante was so focused on the prank he was setting up at that moment he completely missed that van Aller was on the move. He had been tying yet another string, this time to a rather sturdy looking object. The other end was connected to the only three fireworks the Ravenclaw had brought into the room. If tripped it was going to be an impressive show. His backpack was at the other end of the line though, he had set it there with the intent to go back to it, the fireworks were not yet set. So with the line set getting the fireworks ready to go would be the next goal.

His plot was interrupted by the sounds he was dreading to hear while he was still in the room. A crash, and a scream were the first sounds heard and he knew what was coming next. Van Aller had crashed into the very first trap he had put down in the room. The string was tied to a couch on one end, which would likely remain stable as she fell. The issue was going to be the coat rack that it was also tied to. That object he had intentionally tied high, so it was going to lose balance, and come crashing down when the string was pulled. Dante cringed as he heard the wood hit the floor, not yet turning to the scene that was not yet done unfolding. He wanted to be sure that the other part to the prank went off before he took in the scene.

As the coat rack did a small bounce off the floor it turned just a bit hitting the gel that he had placed on the top of it. The puff of smoke and the small flash that it produced were nothing compared to the loud popping sound that echoed in the room. This was the point that Dante knew was coming, and he finally turned to see the outcome. It was then he saw finally van Aller face down on the floor from being tripped up. The coat rack had fallen just over two feet or so from her. But he wondered if she had noticed him at all, he could not be sure but he knew if he stuck around much longer he would be in a lot of trouble.

That was the queue for an escape, and he turned his head to the door. But the situation had apparently taken another turn while he was setting everything up. Another Professor had made her way just into the room, with a girl he barely recognized in front of her. Potions, he thought to himself, remembering her from the classes he use to take a long time before. From what he could see she did not look very happy either. It was official, there was no real way to escape from the situation, the door was blocked fairly well.

Though the Potions Professor was smaller than he was, he wondered if he could make a break for it. His backpack was the thing that kept him thinking it was not a good idea though. He could not have made it to the backpack and out the door before either professor could react. So for now he just needed to get out of being in to much trouble. It would require a plan. So for now he stayed kneeling in the corner, not thinking to until the latest line, if it was tripped on nothing would happen aside from a stumble. The first thought was rather worrisome however. No good can come of this...

(GM of Annemarie was given)