nora m. peakes (melindicate) wrote in valesco,
@ 2013-10-27 23:23:00

Entry tags:

adian rosenberg, arista sykes, caradoc dearborn, charles spinnet, charlotte sweeting, delilah spinnet, derek dobbs, galvin gudgeon, giada dorny, glenda prewett, graeme dorny, greta catchlove, group, howell williams, jake bexley, kalista borgin, larkin whitby, louis bonaccord, matthew summerby, nona pepper, nora peakes, octavius pepper, oliver comstock, penelope fawcett, rose knightley, rupert brookstanton, saoirse mullet, seth wadcock

Halloween Haunted Castle Event! Open to Everyone!
While she wasn't particularly keen on parties, she was set on saving wildlife. Everyone else seemed to rake in the galleons by throwing large events, no matter the scandals that erupted from them, so why couldn't they? Nora had conservatory's committee for quite some time now, and being the youngest by a good forty years, had devised this plan as a new and fresh way of funding. It helped greatly that she had friends that had access to some of the best party planners (or that she could twist Charlie Spinnet's ear until he helped her out), and things seemed to have turned out well. So far.

For the brave at heart, there was a grand maze that made its way throughout the haunted castle. Guests would be offered clues to get themselves to the ballroom, and if they were truly lost (as Nora was sure was to occur), for just a small donation (it's for charity), any money dropped into a clue box would light up a blue path down the correct route to lead the way out. With all the Gryffindors that Nora had put on the guest list, she was sure they were going to triple their goal.

There was a simpler route than the maze, which was simply to walk through the double doors to the dance floor. Nora was currently wavering between the two, having run out of pamphlets to give out at the front entrance therefore giving her no excuse to join the festivities. She felt rather exposed, as Delilah had stolen her cloak, and when someone tapped her shoulder she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Bloody hell!" she let out, spinning around. "You scared the life out of me!"

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Greta!

auroared
2013-10-28 04:48 pm UTC (link)

He may have been taking his costume more seriously than he should.

Jake had given Greta all rights to dressing him for this party as he had not the faintest idea of what to do. In reality, the whole night had been orchestrated by...not Jake, but he wasn't feeling bothered by it. Ollie had pushed him to ask Greta out for drinks, which he never would have done on his own and then her enthusiasm for the party made it nearly impossible to say that he didn't want to attend.

He hadn't, as Jake found any excursion tiring, stressful, and most likely going to end in a panic attack, but he had been under Greta Catchlove's spell since he was fifteen years old. Who knew that tripping over someone's foot in the Great Hall and causing a hugely embarrassing scene could have that kind of hold? Jake hadn't questioned his attire and had even glowered at his brother's laughs when he came out of his room. William, Jake was sure, knew even less how to have fun than him, and that was a feat.

"Stand back," Jake said, putting his arm out to stop Greta from moving further down the corridor. He stuck the tip of his sword out in front of them, as if attempting to press it against a balloon and not pop it. With a final push, Jake's suspicions had been confirmed; the air in front of them shimmered a rainbow of colors, the invisibility spell dropping off of the wall to wall, ceiling to floor, spider-web. That would've been rather nasty to walk in to.

Dropping his arm, Jake stood at attention. He felt the strange need to smile, but that would seem over-confident, wouldn't it? "We should be clear for the next part."

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catchthislove
2013-11-03 06:00 pm UTC (link)

Though Greta wasn't necessarily adventurous in comparison to her sibling's standards, she was still pluckier than by a handful to most of her peers, which was a realisation she hadn't necessarily made yet. The maze in equal parts thrilled and terrified her, but she was having the time of her life, as she knew she would. Screams and shivers and shudders had certainly been had, but what fun would it be if there weren't?

Jake had a very earnest approach to the maze, and though she couldn't say she knew him all that well, he was certainly a good maze-going companion. He seemed to have gotten very much into the spirit of the night, but Greta was uncertain if that was an intentional decision, or a subsconscious one.

Regardless, they were having a nice time, and he did have a better eye for the obstacles than she did. Although her sense of direction was proving nearly infallible in the horror-ladened course, she was having a bit more fun getting into character and issuing orders and commands than having to do the work herself.

"You say that now, but," Greta cast her eyes upwards and all about the two of them, the very picture of hesitance, "where is the thing that's supposed to live in that web?"

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auroared
2013-11-04 01:54 am UTC (link)

Jake...had not taken that into consideration. His eyes rose to the ceiling, mimicking Greta's gaze. Could there really be a spider large enough to weave that web, crawling around here? He twisted his neck, the feeling as if the arachnid was already climbing up his skin. Spiders had never been his cup of tea, but he needed to view this creature as an invisible enemy. Moody would've been very disappointed in him if he'd known he hadn't remembered the spider.

"Are you afraid of them?" he asked, eyes dropping back to Greta. His wand was lit, giving their faces an eerie glow. The few candles in the room did nothing but create enough shadowy corners that the spider could hide for years. If Greta was scared of them, he'd have to get them out of there as soon as possible. "Spiders, I mean."

The thought of a giant spider sent another chill down his spine, and Jake wracked his brain for a useful spell. While some small voice in his head knew...tried to believe, anyway, that this maze was not meant to really hurt anyone, it was still giving them real obstacles to get through. The spider wouldn't go away with a simple flick of his wand.

"Arania Exumai is the spell," he said with a stiff nod, taking a few steps forward. He felt a strange bubbling in his chest...excitement? "To blow that sucker through a wall."

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catchthislove
2013-11-04 05:49 am UTC (link)

"Nah, I'm not scared of them," Greta said boldly, shining the tip of her illuminated wand about. "At least, I'm not scared until we see them."

As she scanned the expanse of their surroundings for tell-tale signs of arachnid lurkers, she dropped her voice low and asked uncertainly, "Do you see any of them?"

For in order to make a web that was so large, there had to be one very large spider, or a very large amount of normal-sized ones.

Neither option was all that desirable, if you asked Greta Catchlove.

She repeated the incantation Jake imparted to her, wondering if she knew any other useful spells that could have come in use. Surely a steadily-gaining reputation of a smart journalist who had in past fought Death Eaters could handle some eight-legged creatures.

No. Not really at all.

A scuttling noise alerted her, and with her heartbeat pounding like hooves in her chest, she tried to follow the noise with her lit wand. "THERE!" she shouted suddenly, trying in vain to suppress several shrieks and shudders. "Right above, do you see it?" Greta took a deep breath as she tried to remember the spell he had just told her, because as far as she was concerned at that moment, her whole bloody life depended on it.

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auroared
2013-11-07 01:41 am UTC (link)

As well as Jake knew his spells, he had been worried about actually using magic tonight. It was a constant thought going through his head; he hadn't used his wand for anything other than apparation in months. Months? That was probably being generous. He listed spells easily because of the memorization that had been required for his auror training, but he'd been stuck on the desk for so long, and he'd just recently begun venturing out on a regular basis...using his wand had not been much of a priority.

Jake sprang into action as Greta shouted. He was an auror. Is an---Jake turned his focus on the beast, whose silhouette was becoming more clear as their ignited wands grew closer. Jake shot a quick look at Greta, and seeing her fear gave him a surge of bravery. He'd spent most of the night reminding himself that the obstacles, creatures, and ghosts were harmless and that he wouldn't really have to use any decent magic on them, but that rationality was lost on Jake as he stepped in front of Greta and flung the spell toward the giant spider.

"ARANIA EXUMAI!" he shouted with great force. The spell lit up the room so brightly that Jake had to shut his eyes as it felt like he was being blinded. The boom of what was supposed to be the spider sounded a lot more like wood cracking and brick falling. There was also something sticky that had been splattered all over him.

He stood for a frozen moment, and then said, "There's spider guts all over me, isn't there?"

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catchthislove
2013-11-09 11:24 pm UTC (link)

Heart still pounding, Greta lowered her wand from its ready stance and looked quickly about for signs of any other creepy-crawlies, stomach momentarily twisting at the arachnid innards splayed about them. Turning her attention back to Jake, she tilted her head and studied Jake seriously.

"Yeah," she said, nose wrinkling as she tried not to laugh, "yeah, 'm afraid so."

Careful to avoid any of the acid green mucous, she raised herself slightly on her tiptoes and patted an unblemished spot of his helmet. "My hero," she said sincerely, beaming at him. Simply because a witch had the ability dispense of a huge, unnatural, unsightly, furry beast with eight legs with minimal screaming did not by any stretch of the imagination meant she had any desire to.

"It looks like we're safe for now, do you want me to hose you off?" She raised her wand voluntarily. "My aim is probably better than yours is from here. Unless you want to strip, of course."

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auroared
2013-11-11 02:49 am UTC (link)

He could actually see stars, whether it be from being blinded by the spell or the loveliness of Greta's voice, Jake wasn't sure. His chest swelled with pride as she dubbed him her hero. A hero! Jake's head swirled; he'd wanted to be a hero all his life, from when he was a little boy battling the dragons and monsters of his imagination. The memories were blurry, images of metal helmets made out of tin pans and his brother refusing to play along swirled in his head.

His inner joy about being Greta's hero completely diffused into sheer---panic? Was it panic he was feeling, as she suggested he strip his clothes? Strip, she--should he? It--that would mean---Jake was far from ready to be half naked in front of her, in front of anyone, but in front of Greta especially, even if it wasn't--It would be easier to take the costume off (but he did rather like wearing it), he couldn't possibly---

It was quite suddenly very, very hot, and Jake pulled his helmet off quickly, holding it to his chest. What would Ollie tell him to do in this situation? Greta could not have possibly meant her words as anything but innocent, as she was a lady, therefore this feeling was brought on solely on his own. Ollie would tell him to---relax. His healer would tell him to calm himself. He got riled up easily, often for no reason, he had to learn to bring himself back down.

"A soldier needs his armor," he said, hoping his voice didn't sound too strained. Jake gave his head a little shake as the heat of his face caused him to look away from her. "Not something you'd like to see, besides."

Jake winced; that brain-to-mouth filter his brother was constantly harassing him about seemed to be on the fritz.

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catchthislove
2013-11-22 02:20 am UTC (link)

While the cheeky nature of her words hadn't escaped her, Greta thought very little of them and their effect. The fact was, the occasional outrageous word or phrase sometimes fell unthinkingly out of her mouth, and the people who knew her well had generally come to accept this about her (though merciless teasing often followed). Of course, the thought never once occurred to her that Jake did not, in fact, know her very well at all, so she merely appeared very scandalous.

"I'm sure I've seen worse," she said cheerfully, wholly unaware of the turmoil she had raised in her male companion. In fact, her only focus was on their ominous surroundings, and her strong desire to escape the danger of the maze and get to the centre. So she instead pointed to the left and said, "There, the way out is definitely through there!"

Then hurried with him in tow (in essence, lugging Jake by the wrist so he had very little say in the matter) towards the promised path to the wild revelry of the party that surely awaited them there.

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