Forgetful Me ((Rayne))

[xadrian]

Xad exited the Potions classroom with a bitter look on his face. It was the third time this year that Professor Snape had given him an 'Acceptable' on an essay that he had worked so hard to do right. He hated the fact that it didn't matter how hard you tried or how accurate you were, Snape didn't give high marks unless you were in his house or for some unknown reason he had a spell of graciousness. Muttering under his breath, he turned a sharp corner and ducked behind a portrait that was concealing a secret passageway. It was a route that he had found in his second year, and he knew that there were others who used it occasionally. Mostly, it was Ravenclaws who he would pass in the narrow staircase, since the path did lead directly from the dungeons to the corridor just outside the Ravenclaw dormitories and common room. It wasn't so much a secret passageway anymore as it was a shortcut.

As Xad walked the flight of stairs, he was so distracted by his Potions essay that he forgot to skip the one step that he had known for so long was a trap-step. Immediately, he felt his body jolt downward, as he sunk waist-deep into the enchanted wood. "Drat!" he said aloud, trying to wrench his arms free. It was no use though. Both of his arms were trapped below the level of the wood, and he couldn't move them. This meant he was also unable to get his wand from his pocket. With a loud sigh, Xadrian just waited, half of his body visible, half trapped below the stairs. He hoped that someone might use the passageway soon, but at the same time, he knew it might be a long while before someone decided to come his way.

[Rayne Hamilton R3]

Rayne breathed a sigh of relief as she looked over her paper for History of Magic. Once again she'd gotten top marks for her essay. She laughed inwardly like there was ever any doubt. She had been taught half the stuff the professors were teaching before she had even gotten her acceptance letter. Stuffing the paper into her bag she ducked behind a portrait that she had noticed the other Ravenclaws using after their last class. It was a nifty little short cut she was glad she had noticed the others using. It wasn't like taking the proper way was a terribly long ways away it was just a minor inconvenience. However Rayne had very little patience for inconveniences and she took every short cut she could.

As Rayne climbed the stairs she noticed another student stuck in the floor boards of the trick stair. Most students who knew this passageway remembered to skip that step. Rayne recognized this boy she had never had an actual conversation with him she just remembered seeing him in the common room at night. She chuckled as she took out her wand and freed him with a spell. "You should be more careful love I might not be around to unstick you next time." She said re-pocketing her wand.

[xadrian]

Luckily, it was only five minutes or so until Xad heard footsteps. He breathed a sigh of relief as he assumed someone was on their way. Surely they would be able to free him from the bloody stairs.

Moments later he saw a younger Ravenclaw girl emerge from the stairs above him. He didn't recognize her by name, but knew that she looked familiar at least. Without even saying anything first, the girl used a releasing spell to free him from his wooden trap. He noticed that she laughed a bit and then cautioned him to be more careful next time. "Yeah," he acknowledged, "I guess I was a bit distracted. Thanks though," he said, somewhat unsure if he should offer much more. He wasn't sure what else he might give though, besides his gratitude. Plus, he assumed the girl didn't expect anything else. "So, um, where are you headed?" he questioned, not wanting to just be rude and rush off without at least attempting a conversation. Xad wasn't the most sociable person, but he knew to keep his manners in tune; it was something his parents had taught him well. "My name is Xadrian by the way. Most people just call me Xad though."

[Rayne Hamilton R3]

Rayne was about to walk off her good deed was done for the day after all when the boy asked her where she was headed. Rayne turned and waited a few steps above the boy so he could catch up. "I wasn't heading in any particular direction. My classes are over so I was just going wandering." She stopped and wondered if she should extend an invite. He was a year older than her and would probably turn her down but she decided to go ahead. "You're welcome to join me if you wish."

Rayne realized as she walked ahead that he had introduced himself. It would be rude if she just kept walking without giving him her name as well. "Oh I'm sorry I have horrible manners. My name is Rayne, Rayne Hamilton it's very nice to meet you. Anyway you coming?"

[xadrian]

Xad bit his lip as the girl seemed ready to just leave him and continue on her own. Then however, she stopped, explaining that she was simply done with classes for the day and that she would just be wandering around. Wandering where? Xad thought, thinking that wandering seemed to be the last thing on his mind. He had homework to do and plenty of things to study. Not to mention, his stack of reading had piled up quite high with books he not only wanted to read for entertainment, but also those that were full of valuable information he would need for many of his classes. With a slight shrug, he asked, "Where do you plan on wandering," he inquired as he hopped up a few stairs to catch up.

At this point, the girl apologized for her lack of manners and introduced herself as Rayne Hamilton. Xad thought he had heard the name before, but knew now that he would remember who it belonged to at least. "I guess it depends on where you are going," he said truthfully when she asked if he would be joining her. "I mean, I have tons of work I could be doing, but it can wait, can't it?" He gave a small grin and then waited to hear where the girl would be off to next. He had never officially been wandering with no reason before, and he was frankly quite curious to see how it worked. He wasn't sure if there was a plan or purpose to it, or if it was just somewhat random and unorganized.

[Rayne Hamilton R3]

Rayne walked on not bothering to look if Xad was following or not. If he wanted to come he would if he didn't so be it. Today was for wandering. She smiled as he asked where she was going "I'm going wandering. Haven't you ever done that before? If not you're missing out. I like doing it because there's no set place to go no set time to be somewhere. This school is big enough that I could go roaming it for hours everyday and still find something new to do. Like did you know there's a classroom filled with old text books? Or that there is a room called the room of requirement that when you pass by the doorway thinking of what y ou need that it will appear to your exact specifications. There's loads of old secret passageways around and even passageways that end up going no where. I love it one of my favorite things to do. You can wander for hours and hours without seeing another soul if you go to the right places."

Rayne realized she was rambling on and on and she laughed stopping herself. Then Xad mentioned that he had homework to do but that it could probably wait. "Well love if you have a lot to do you should go do it but in my opinion this is more fun and there's always time to do homework later. It's up to you though."

[xadrian]

"No," Xad said smugly, after Rayne asked if he had ever been wandering. He hung his head a little, embarrassed by his lack of adventure. "I guess I'm just not very outgoing," he muttered, "But it sounds fun though," he added with a slight increase of interest in his voice. After hearing Rayne explain what wandering entailed, Xad figured it wouldn't be too bad if he tried it out. After all, he did wish that he were more adventurous at times. Sure, being safe and cautious was a good thing, but a little adventure never hurt, did it?

"I think I'll come," Xad finally said, nodding his head to reassure himself that this was a good idea. "You're right. I need to have a little fun, and my homework will still be there whenever we get back." He hurried again to catch up with Rayne as she got ahead of him while he pondered the invitation. "I'll just follow you though," he said with a shrug, "since you seem to know a lot more about it that I do. Honestly, this secret passageway is about the most interesting thing I know about in the castle, and I wouldn't even say it's very secretive." He smiled, hoping that Rayne didn't find him a burden. Knowing that she was younger made Xad a little more comfortable about the whole situation. In ways, he thought it might be good to just relax and have a little fun. "Where to first?" he inquired with a curious look on his face.

[Rayne Hamilton R3]

Rayne smiled happily as Xad agreed to come wandering with her. Sure being alone had it's ups she didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. She didn't have to answer to anyone but herself but it got boring after a while. And while wandering was fun to do it was even more fun if you had someone who didn't really know the castle to come with. "You my friend have made the best choice ever."

Rayne kept walking while she tried to think of where to go. She knew Xad wouldn't think she was being rude as he'd said that he would follow her. She could take him to the room of requirements but she'd been there about five times that week alone. She could take him to the room where there was a boggart in the closet but she didn't really want him to see her biggest fear. Especially since she'd just met the boy. There were so many places to go yet she was struggling to find a place cool enough to entertain someone new. It would help if she knew more about him but she'd already extended the invitation so she couldn't exactly go oh wait lets get to know each other first. The only option left was to take him to the hidden underground room. It wasn't very interesting after you'd been there a million times but she remembered how cool it was when she first found it.

Rayne turned around. "Follow me." She said and she turned the corner went through the passageway they had met in. Once in the dungeons and she was near the Potions classroom she went into a classroom. She motioned for Xad to be quiet techinically this could get them into trouble but it was worth it in her opinion. Hopefully Xad would feel the same. Rayne looked around till she found the panel on the floor with a small cresent moon on it. If you weren't looking for it it would be near invisible. She pried it open and hopped down. "Come on before we're caught."

[xadrian]

Xad smiled when Rayne had said that he made the best choice. It felt good knowing that she approved, even if Xad wasn't one to usually seek others' approval. This was something new to him thought, so he couldn't help it.

Rayne continued walking silently, seeming as if she was thinking about the way she was going. Xad wondered where she was headed. He listened to her command and followed her to where he had just come from in the dungeons. She led him into the Potions room. He looked around cautiously, wondering where they were going exactly. Rayne seemed occupied as she scanned the floor. Then, she apparently found what she was looking for. He watched as she pulled up one of the floor panels and disappeared below ground.

Xad starred in shock, his mouth agape. Then, Rayne's voice brought him out of his momentary trance. Before we're caught?! he thought to himself. "Caught doing what?" Xad questioned, almost in a whisper. He finally worked up the nerve to take a closer look. Walking over to where there was now a hole in the floor, Xad peered into the shadows, barely able to see Rayne's head just a few inches below ground-level. He stood, torn between opposing thoughts. Half of him wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, especially after Rayne had said they might get caught- for doing what, Xad was still unsure. The other half of him had been proud to have joined Rayne and been more outgoing. Backing out now would have made it all seem worthless up to that point. A few moments passed, and he realized he needed to decide soon. "Alright," he finally agreed, moving the floor panel so that it could be easily put back into place once he went down to join Rayne. Hopping down, Xad then reached back up and slid the panel back into place. The two were surrounded by darkness, and so Xad pulled his wand from his pocket. "Lumos," he said hesitantly as he then looked around.

[Rayne Hamilton R3]

Rayne waited for Xad to hop down. He seemed unsure of himself and extremely nervous as he asked in a whisper what they would get caught doing. "Don't worry there's nothing bad down here the teachers just disapprove of us going into underground tunnels they don't know exsist under their very classrooms." Rayne whispered urgently. He really needed to get out more if he was going to fret over something as harmless as going into a darkened tunnel located under a classroom floor. Or if he was going to chicken out he needed to leave then because she was going to continue and she'd be damned if she'd get into trouble because Xad couldn't stomach a little adventure. Rayne opened her mouth to say something to him when he decided on his own to jump down.

Rayne smiled as Xad jumped down and pulled the panel back into place. She too pulled out her wand and lit it. The light revealed a longer passageway that seemingly stretched out forever. It wasn't a very used passageway it wasn't even interesting it looked like someone had dug a tunnel into the earth. Rayne suspected these were the catacombs of the school. "Don't worry we can't get into trouble for being here. In fact I sincerely doubt anyone really knows about this except me." Rayne tried to reassure Xad before she started moving ahead. After walking for about ten minutes the tunnel widened and they entered a room that had several other tunnels branching off in different directions. "Choose your path love." She said extremely proud that she could show someone else this place.