What was that smell? That stench? For those daring enough to come anywhere near the fifth floor corridor they knew what it was. For it bubbled and stank up the area and anything that fell into it would disappear into its depths.

Heheheh!!!

What was that? It sounded like a giggle? Pop! Bubble! Did you here it over the sound of bubbles popping in the swamp or is the smell finally getting to you?

Hahahaha!!!

The faint echos of giggles could definitely be heard across the swamp. But where was it coming from?!

’Listen for that giggly sound.’

That was what the riddle on the wall at the arcade area had said and Aurora was the master of recognising a fellow giggler.

She had just been wandering down the corridor from a lesson when the sound of a giggle wafted it’s way past her ears and over the bubbling of the swamp. Her ears perked up, almost like a cat when it heard a mouse running through the undergrowth. Her tiny little legs followed the giggle directly towards the swamp where she paused for a second to gain her bearings. Somehow the blonde didn’t feel concerned despite the fact that there was ethereal laughter seemingly coming out of thin air.

“Hellooooo?” she called out into the emptiness hoping for someone to answer. “I heard you giggle. Are you the person from the riddle?” Was this another clue? Was she about to find lost treasure somewhere in Hogwarts?

Where was that sound coming from?

She'd gone a little lower key this trip to the swamp, no rain jacket and gloves just some galoshes over her jeans. Considering she'd still never been successful retrieving her lost items, she was giving it another go. Though she wasn't expecting to find help this time.

At least .. not until she heard the giggle. Was someone already here?

Nose scrunched up from the smell, she walked further down the hall and peered ahead to spot a small familiar blonde. Talking to the air??? She approached, glancing left and right and upwards to see if there was someone else she hadn't noticed. "What're you doing here, Squirrel Girl? Was that sound you?"

Logan was more than familiar with the Weasley swamp. Well, to an extent. He knew that the Weasley twins were responsible for it. Beyond that, however, he had no clue what the swamp had been used for back in the day or how it had even come into being. He just chalked it up to one of the many random things about Hogwarts.

But what he did know about the swamp was that it was a bit on the smelly side. Discovering it during his first year, he thought he had had an accident. Fortunately, it had just been the swamp. Never mind the fact that he had actually nearly been sucked as a result of him not paying attention and panicking in an impromptu search for a loo.

Now the Gryffindor was much older and (arguably) wiser. He had thought a year or so ago that others likely had been sucked into the swamp, which meant that things likely had been lost in its depths. Today he was a man on a mission: he was going 'fishing.'

Or so he thought. He heard giggling, which wasn't exactly normal coming from his part of the castle. Did some kid push someone in the swamp and was laughing at them? Logan quickened his pace, only to turn a corner and see that no one besides a young Ravenclaw and Vera were there at the swamp.

"Was that giggling coming from one of you?" It was probably Ravenclaw, but why? And what in the world was Vera wearing? Because those were worth a few giggles.

To be honest Aurora was so focused on finding the source of the giggle that she hadn’t really noticed the smell. That was until she spotted Vera approaching with her nose scrunched and the smell hit her like a tonne of bricks. There was no time to think about it though as Vera was asking her a question. “Hi Tire Girl” her face fell into a big beam at the sound of her nickname. “It wasn’t me!” Also what in Merlin was Vera’s chosen attire today?! She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips this . “Okay that one was me. What are you wearing? You look like you’re going fishing!” She was sure she’d seen her Great Grandpa wear those before on his fishing trips.

Why did everyone think it was her?!

Now yes it was entirely possible that the twelve year old was capable of producing such a giggle. In fact when she was with her friends it was often all she did in between her rambling and excitement but this was not coming from her at all. She looked at the older boy who she had not become acquainted with quite yet and shook her head. “Nope. It came out of thin air” she responded. She DID however have a perfectly reasonable explanation for WHY there was a giggle though.

“When I was in the arcade the other week there was a riddle written on the wall and it said to ‘follow the giggle’ and so I’ve been listening out for it ever since and today I just heard it!” The excitement in her voice was evident. “What do you think it means?!” They were both older and therefore they knew everything, right?

Part of her had been also hoping to come down to the Weasley Swamp because after her little outburst the other day, she'd been hoping to avoid the common room and people in it. But of COURSE she'd just run into them instead at the Swamp. Excuse her while she tried (and failed) to not be awkward, giving a small "Not me!" and a small finger wiggle his way before her attention turned back to Aurora.

She wasn't trying to be rude. But her face was turning a bit red and she was trying to salvage the very small amount of dignity she possessed.

The smile was returned to the smol Ravenclaw, before she returned the laugh and looked down at her shoes, leaning back and trying to keep her balance while she wiggled her toes in them. "Rain boots! I was going to go fishing in a sense. I'm looking for a bracelet!"

In Aurora's defense too, it wasn't that specifically they thought it was her just when you walked into an abandoned hall and there was only one person (or two but you knew one of their voices) one tended to jump to the next logical assumption. Which in this case, had been her.

The way in which she was looking at them, like they should have the answers, made Vera very much feel like they SHOULD have the answers. So even if she was not 100% sure, she was definitely going to pretend like she was!! "It sounds like Peeves is doing his Peevsie thing." Giggle and all. "Maybe he's just setting us all up for a trap?"

Logan was too busy to notice that Vera's face was starting to turn red as he was trying to make sense of the giggling mystery. An eyebrow rose. He wasn't sure he was buying into the 'it came out of thin air' thing. That response just wasn't adding up to him. And wasn't it common for little girls to be giggling up a storm? His younger sister certainly was known for that.

His mouth opened as he was about to comment on how nothing just came from nowhere, but he stopped himself. Magic was a thing, he reminded himself, and the castle was known for its strange occurrences. So, he supposed, the probability of the giggling coming from thin air was actually pretty high.

When Vera revealed why she was wearing what she was wearing and why she was at the swamp in the first place, his thoughts quickly pivoted. It was a weird coincidence that they were both here for 'fishing' reasons. He, of course, was just planning to go in barefoot rather than sport such silly-looking footwear.

There wasn't much time to linger on those thoughts though. The younger girl was going on about some riddle and giggling. Leave it to a Ravenclaw to be excited about riddles and listen for random giggling. "Yeah, it's probably just Peeves," he agreed with Vera. "Though I am surprised he's playing the long game. Isn't he normally all up in your face by this point?"