“I can not believe I’m saying this, but - I actually agree with Saint Airi this once,” said Vince, who failed to find any humour in the situation anymore. Was Ned on a suicide mission? And was Vianna on a mission to get him killed?! It was a shame their oldest brother wasn’t there to point out the stupidity of the whole situation, he was the only one that Vianna ever listened to. Occasionally. Mostly because she knew he’d rat her out to Mum and Dad.

But Vianna had no plans to back out of this one. The only way she’d drop it was if Ned himself backed out of the dare, but the boy seemed to be competing with her on who could be more stubborn.

Ignoring Airi’s and Vince’s warnings, Vianna didn’t blink as she continued staring daringly at the Slytherin sitting across from her. If the boy thought she’d be daring him to stay there for just an hour or two, he was in for a surprise. The girl was determined to make this as difficult for him as possible.

“One night. I want you to spend an entire night at the Shrieking Shack.” How's THAT for challenging, Hall?

The library wasn’t a usual place to have found Fion, yet she’d been wandering the stacks for at least an hour or so. She had a Muggle Studies assignment that she’d forgotten to get done, yet she couldn’t work up the motivation to actually find the book she needed to finish it. Instead, she’d just been eluding the disapproving gaze of Madame Geraldine while she stalled actually doing anything. Éamonn was the studious one, and as she’d kept ducking around shelves, she’d gone back to wondering why the headmaster hadn’t decided to offer the Head Boy position to her perfect older brother. That and thinking about hoe Feargus looked like he was going to follow in his path. She didn’t mind being the rebellious one of the Aubreys at Hogwarts, though. At the very least, she knew she always had amusement in knowing the professors never knew what to expect. If anything, predictability was one thing she would rather not have as one of the adjectives connected to herself.

The one thing she hadn’t expected was to hear two of the Vincenzis over near one of the study tables. Airi wasn’t exactly a surprise. Ravenclaws practically seemed to live in the library, a good example of predictability. She hadn’t paid much attention to the brunette Claw’s conversation with Ned either, even if it had shown her that she wasn’t the only one trying to get out of doing assignments. For that matter, getting out of detention wasn’t something she bothered to pay attention to either. She’d been there often enough that it wasn’t anything she worried about. The dare, though. Now that was intriguing, and she ducked away from the glare of the librarian once again and leaned against one of the shelves near the little group at the table. She was petite enough that she’d be safe from reprimands long enough. “I’d do it,” she said idly. The Shack didn’t scare her. Granted, the dare wasn’t for her either, but if it helped get the boys to accept the challenge, she’d oblige.

"Guys listen to Vince, to Vince guys, Vince is telling you how bad this idea is," Airi said, trying to show Ned and Vianna how silly they were being.
It was a true sign of just how stupid of an idea this was, that even VINCE was trying to talk Ned out of it. Vince, who was the almost the living embodiment of bad ideas. Airlia didn't know what to do, her and Vince's pleading seemed to fall on deaf ears. "Vianna, think about what you're asking him to do, the Shack is dangerous," Airi said, growing more incredulous with each minute that this ridiculous dare went on.

And now Fion was here and Airlia felt assured of Ned's doom, because as pig headed as Ned Hall could be around the Vincenzi's and herself, he could still be somewhat sensible, even reasonable, but in the presence of other people, there was no stopping the boy's arrogance.
It didn't help that she was egging the boy on ether.
"Fion, you know how haunted that Shack is, not to mention the thieves and murderers that are rumored to hide out there," Airlia said, astounded by the Gryffindor girl's cavalier attitude.

"Fifi, good of you to join us, you can be witness," Ned said, still boldly smirking at Vianna, her smoldering look only made her all the prettier and Ned found himself enjoying their little game, even if he was a little apprehensive about the actual dare part. Ned would just have to cross that bridge when he reached it, besides he was Ned Hall, there was nothing he couldn't accomplish.

"Seriously? One night? Sounds almost too easy, but alright Vincenzi... I'll do your little 'dare' but when I win, which I will," Ned calmly proclaimed, grinning in that mad way of his that only meant trouble.
the man was acting like Vianna had challenged him to a pie eating contest or something equally as mild, it was almost admirable just confident this young man was.
"When I win Vianna.... You go on a date with me," Ned said, he said it simply, without blinking, so that the others would know he wasn't fooling around, because Ned was very serious about that last part.

Airi was flabbergasted by this last statement, yes she was aware that Ned had feelings for Vianna, she was probably one of the few that did, but she had never believed the boy would make a move, certainly not in such a bold manner. "This is literally going from bad to worst," Airi muttered, rolling her eyes at her friends ridiculousness.

Vince appreciated Airi’s support on the matter, and he wasn’t surprised when his stubborn sister and his brother’s best mate ignored his warnings; however, it seemed Airi wasn’t having that much luck either, and that got the boy – Vince, who never worried about a thing – to worry a little. You just know that when even Saint Airi’s warnings are being ignored, no one else stood a chance at talking some sense into the other two.

Vianna didn’t even glance at Vince or Airi, their muffled voices lost somewhere in the background. It was like Ned was the only person in the library – besides her – and her complete attention and focus was on the Slytherin boy who she was determined to teach a lesson. Maybe after this he’d learn to be more sympathetic and less arrogant.

What she wasn’t counting on, though, was his side of the deal.
For once, Vianna seemed to snap out of her daze. What?! A date with Hall did not at all sound appealing to the girl who had grown up seeing him as more of an annoying brother than an actual boy, but she wasn’t going to let it scare her off from going along with their rather stupid plan.

“Fine.”

Vince nearly fell from his seat in disbelief. IT WAS DONE. They were going to go along with the dare! “Why don't you go ahead and add an unbreakable vow to it,” he said sarcastically, since Vianna and Ned seemed to be all for bad ideas today. The boy looked up as a fifth voice filled the air, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Fion leaning against one of the bookshelves nearby. Oohoho, why wasn’t he surprised she was ALL for this night-at-the-Shack idea? The girl was such a magnet for trouble it made him look like Saint Airi here.

“Of course you would,” said the boy with a chuckle, rolling his eyes at the unsurprising statement. “I suppose Hall wouldn’t mind the company,” he added, turning to Ned with a smirk. Funny how he was all against the dare idea a minute ago, now he was throwing both Ned and Fion into the fire. What? When it was more than one person willing to do something stupid, he was more likely to encourage it.

Ned paid no heed to the others around him. He had only one thing that he cared about at the moment and that was Vianna and by extension the dare, which he would win, no matter what was not backing down or giving up, even if it meant ignoring the way his conscience was screaming at him and telling him just how bad this whole thing could be. When Vianna accepted his terms, Ned, already feeling like he had won let out a bark of laugh and put up his feet onto the table. Though they didn't stay there long as Airi almost immediately pushed them off.

"Get ready to lose, Vincenzi," Ned grinned, unbothered by the look of concern on Airlia's face, or Vince's sarcasm. He was already planning out his date with the lovely Vianna, they would go to Hogsmeade first, then he'd apparate them to Muggle London, take her on the town...
"I definitely wouldn't. what do you say Fion? Wanna spend the night with me? We can have a slumber party," Ned playfully said, in his most charming, silky tones. He loved flirting with anyone and everyone, and Fion was a gorgeous, fun girl, and he definitely wouldn't mind staying up all night with her in the shack.

"Stop giving him ideas, Vince, seriously, I thought you were concerned?" Airlia said, annoyed by the young man's sudden about face. She should have known once women came into play that he would turn. The young girl sighed in defeat, despite her good intentions, Ned was going to be spending a night in one of the most dangerous houses in all of Britain, though Ned could be a jerk sometimes, he really was one of her dearest friends and if she had to turn against Vianna to make sure he survived, then she would. "Ned," Airi said, waving her hand in front of the boy's face to get his attention.

"I know, I know, you want me to be careful, and not di- " Ned began to say, but Airi cut him off.

"Shut up, I'm on your team, don't make me regret it," Airlia said, nervously taking down a note with a little more force then she had intended and puncturing a whole in her parchment. "I swear, you people will be the death of me," Airi added, wordlessly repairing the parchment.

Vianna rolled her eyes as Ned laughed aloud and warned her to prepare for her loss. PFFTT. Did he not know who he was talking to? Vianna Vincenzi NEVER lost. And she'd cheat to get her way, if she had to. The girl had always been a fierce competitor and, though generally mature and kindhearted, she had no problem scheming shortcuts to get what she wanted.

Everything and anything that happened or was said after she and Ned had struck their deal, went unnoticed by the girl who suddenly began to gather her books. "Will you look at the time? I completely forgot I have a Charms exam to prepare for," she said to no one in particular as she picked up her bag from the floor and, giving the others a quick little wave and one of her sweet smiles, she hurried out of the library.

Oh, she had something to prepare for, alright. But it was no Charms exam. There was a certain (dreamy) green-eyed ghost she needed to find. If she was going to win this bet, she had to start plotting Ned's demise NOW. Not a second later.

"She's such a nerd sometimes," Vince muttered absentmindedly after Vianna hurried off, totally oblivious to her true intentions. He turned to Airi as the Ravenclaw warned him not to give Ned any ideas, and laughed. "I am concerned!" he said in his defense. "Concerned that our poor Neddy will die down there - from boredom. That's why I suggested Fion goes with him." Gawsshhh Airi, give the boy some credit. He was just trying to be a caring friend.

Liam happened to be walking down the path and heard his friends talking about visiting the haunted house. He smirked. "Hey guys, I hear you're thinking about going to the haunted house. I want in.".

The reactions her little comment had gotten were essentially just what Fion had expected. Down to the feeling of eyes boring in to the back of her head that told her Madame Geraldine was back to giving her the evil eye. She wasn’t hurting anyone. The books were safe, even if she was leaning against one of the shelves. It wasn’t her fault if they were so unstable that her petite form knocked it over. “Since when have I ever been content with being a witness, Ned?,” she asked, giving him a glance even as Airi had interjected her disapproval of just about everything that was being said. The argument was hardly going to change her mind, and so far it was all hypothetical anyway even if she’d considered seeing if the Shack was everything it was supposed to be in the past. The occasion hadn’t presented itself before now, so she wasn’t turning it down.

“So’s the castle, Airi. Afraid of being here?,” she continued, already brushing aside all arguments to the contrary. “And wouldn’t you rather know if those rumors were true? I know I would feel safer if I knew that in fact there weren’t thieves and murderers camping out within walking distance.” Actually, she didn’t particularly care, as she was confident she could hold her own if anyone actually did try to attack Hogwarts. Odds were they’d end up bringing her onto their side anyway, and she had smirked at Vince’s little eye roll. So now the challenge was including her. She didn’t’ mind if it did, whether or not it meant she’d have to spend a night with Ned just to get him a date with Vianna. It’d be ten times better than staying here with all the expectations of her getting caught doing something yet again. She’d let her own blue eyes follow Vianna as the girl had stalked off, then stepped forward to take the now abandoned seat.

“What am I getting out of this little field trip? Aside from your sparkling company and possibly those of whoever’s haunting the Shack,” she continued, letting the librarian ease her fears that Hurricane Fion was going to knock over her precious shelves as she returned her attention to those remaining at the table. Apparently they were gaining more interest as the seconds passed, too, as yet another voice sounded and she turned her head to se Liam standing there smirking.

Airlia watched Vianna depart with suspicion, she knew the girl well enough to know when she was up to something, also, Airi knew perfectly well that the fifth year Gryffindors had this period free. "We need to think of a plan, Neddy," Airi anxiously said.

"Airi, come on, just relax, we'll get to that," Ned said, wrapping a friendly arm around Airi as he spoke, the young girl glared at the boy but ignored him and turned her attention to Vince.

"The breath it would take me to explain to you how ridiculous you just sounded would not be worth it, still like you though," Airi said, managing to sound kind even through her insult.

The Ravenclaw girl and Fion had something of a history of not getting along, it wasn't that Airlia didn't like her, because Airi liked almost everyone, it was just that the two girls were as different as any two people could be. "The castle is different, its safe, protected by various magical wards and enchantments, the Shack is not, these ghosts that reside in the castle, they're good natured because because they were good people, bad ghosts like the ones that haunt the Shack were as evil as it gets.... " Airi said, speaking matter of factly, she was doing her best not to get irritated by everyone's cavalier attitudes, but the poor girl was very responsible and even the idea of irresponsibility was enough to drive her mad.

"Oh, hello Liam," Airi said, smiling politely at the young man as he entered the conversation, though it almost immediately turned into a frown as she heard that he too, wanted to go to the Shack.

"The more the merrier," Ned said, as way of greeting the young man, he practically beamed at him, so he wanted in huh? Well Ned didn't see why not, in fact it would probably be helpful, not when it came to the ladies, but certainly if they were attacked or something... He could just use Liam as a nice, squishy shield. "Fine, by me, in fact, I think we should invite more people," Ned said, and then his eyes got that strange glint to them that meant he was forming an idea.

"I don't know, darling, what would you like? Name it," Ned replied to Fion, watching her lovely form as she approached the table, and took Vianna's. "You know Fi, Vince and I can pretty much get you whatever you want," Ned coyly added, leaning forward in a conspiratorial manner.

"Well, I've gotta go, I've got a tutoring session to get to" Airi said, getting up from her seat and enchanting her books and things to follow behind her. "I will see all of you later, please try not to get into anymore trouble," Airi added, looking in particular to Ned and Vince.

"Bye doll," Ned said, waving as Airi calmly, but quickly exited the library.

Vince was absentmindedly flipping through the pages of one of Airi’s painfully dull and boring textbooks, mostly just looking at the pretty pictures of plants and ancient wizards than actually doing any reading. Due to his short attention span, Vince had already grown uninterested in the conversation going on and had decided to distract himself with something random.

But something soon caught his attention.
As Airi and Fion exchanged words, his gaze lifted from the pages of the book to fall upon the two girls instead. Ooohoho. It wasn’t very often that he saw Saint Airi getting all worked up and, he had to admit, it was an amusing sight. With a stupid grin on his face, he watched the exchange before yet another person joined the group. This time it was a boy.

“Hey mate,” Vince greeted the boy, smiling with amusement as Liam immediately announced that he wanted to join Ned and Fion in sneaking into the Shrieking Shack. Whaddayaknow, the little dare was turning into a full house already. When Ned began to make promises to Fion of getting her ‘whatever she wanted’ - somehow dragging Vince into that promise too - the boy nodded his head, totally unaware of what he was getting himself into. “Right. Whatever you want. Chocolate frogs. Nail polish.” Girls liked those things, right? “The severed heads of your worst enemies on a stake.”




Meanwhile, somewhere else in the castle…
Victor Vincenzi was making his way down the steps onto the fourth floor corridor. He had just spent the last half hour or so in the office of Professor Blackbourne, the man in charge of the Potions seminars Victor had signed up for at the beginning of the year. Besides getting written excuses for the classes he would be missing or arriving late to in the next week, he had taken the opportunity to become friendly with the professor whom he had come to admire throughout his seven years at Hogwarts. The man was a true potions master, and Victor planned to absorb every bit of information he had to offer.

The boy had been a little distracted reading over one of the professor’s notes, to really pay much attention to the blur that was coming near his direction. It wasn’t really an irritated speed-walking Airi that he should’ve worried about, but rather the books that chased after her, all of which were coming straight at him. Fortunately, Victor looked up just as the girl’s History of Magic book was coming straight to his face, and he managed to catch it with both hands before it could leave him with a broken nose. The book struggled in his grip, as if demanding to be released so it could continue following its owner.

Victor held it tightly to his side and looked down the empty hall, only to find Airi somewhere off to the side, nearing the steps leading downstairs. What was she doing, sending books flying off?!

“I think you’re forgetting one, Mondai,” he said coolly, voice echoing down the empty corridor.

Laughter spilled from Ned's mouth as he listened to Vince listing off various thing they could get Fion, none of which he was sure she would like, though now that he thought about it that last one sounded right up her alley. "Vince... I could be wrong here... But I think I'm having a really brilliant idea," Ned said, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner, of course it was all an act because Ned had conceived his idea some time ago. "It's almost Halloween right? So what do Muggles do to celebrate the occasion?" Ned asked, leading Vince on.


Airi was so irritated that Victor Vincenzi's tall form completely escaped her notice. She was rounding a corner, on her way to the Ravenclaw Common room where she hoped she would find some peace and quiet, when the eldest Vincenzi called out to her, immediately stopping her in her tracks. She really didn't need this right now, she was not in control of her emotions and Victor would only make that worst, unable to walk away, Airi did the only thing she could, she turned to face him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Victor, sometimes they tend to wander off on their own.... It didn't hit you did it?" Airi asked, giving the textbook a look of disapproval, she took the struggling book from the Slytherin's hands and calmly deposited it into her strained book bag. Now without the book to direct her attention on Airi was forced to look up into Victor's face and-
Yup, she was a goner, seriously, what was it about him that did this to her? She felt as stupid as Vince, no wait that was mean, she felt as stupid as a flubberworm. "Hi Victor, how are you?" Airi said, smiling politely at the young man. Though she was going through a sort of internal struggle, her face thankfully didn't show it.

Vince’s blue eyes turned curious when Ned mentioned something about ‘having a really brilliant idea’. He was usually a fan of the Slytherin’s ideas, since they usually involved troublemaking and the company of lovely Slytherin girls (the most beautiful in the whole school, in his opinion). But they also often confused him, since Vince was usually too dull to keep up with the intricate details of plans. Like if the plan required him to be at a specific place at a specific time. 10 out of 5 times (yes), Vince would get either the time or the place wrong. Or both.

At least Ned was kind enough to slowly lead him into whatever he was plotting this time.
Halloween? Muggles? Celebration?
“Uh…” Vince looked off into space, dark eyebrows furrowing above his blue eyes. HMMM. “They… collect candy?” he guessed, looking at Ned again. “Sometimes it’s poisoned. I’ve heard stories…” Poor muggle children. “Oh, and they dress up too.” Yeah, that was a pretty important part of muggles’ Halloween.




Victor watched as Airi stuffed away the rebellious book and returned his gaze to her as she asked if the book had hit him. “No.” If it had, he probably wouldn’t be standing there so calmly, would he?

And now Airi was greeting him as if the book exchange and her question hadn’t happened a second ago. Weren’t ‘hello’s usually the first thing one said in conversation?
Oh, Mondai. Sweet, sweet, Saint Airi Mondai. For someone so clever, she sometimes seemed a bit… clumsy. He assumed book-smarts couldn’t always go hand-in-hand with grace.

“I’m very well, thank you for asking,” the boy replied with that usual robotic politeness of his, giving the girl a smile. It wasn’t like Vianna’s large, bright, welcoming smiles that were always so genuine and full of warmth. Victor’s were always cold and calculated, the kind that never really let on whether he truly was pleased with something or not. You never knew if the gesture was to be followed by a kind word or a sarcastic remark.

Fortunately for Airi, the boy was feeling nice today.
“You seem tense.” This was his way of asking: 'what the bloody hell were you running away from?'

Ned could practically see the cogs working at top speed in Vince's mind, Ned had to bite his lip to keep from sniggering at the boy's slow reaction time, t was one of the great perks of being Vince's friend that he got to be an audience to moment like this. but, for the first time in some time, Ned found himself surprised as Vince actually came up with the right answer, and only after the second try!

"Yes Vinny, costumes... They have fancy dress parties and get smashed," Ned said, talking as if this was some mythological event and not just a party theme. He put his arm around Vince's broad shoulders and waved his arm as if gesturing to a large crowd. "Think of the girls Vince, think of all those Slytherin girls dressed as nurses and sexy librarians, and hot police women... It's practically a dream come true... " Ned said with a dramatic sigh added at the end.
"We, my friend... Are going to have a fancy dress party... in the Shrieking Shack,"




That was the thing about Victor, he only said what he needed to, nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes Airi thought the boy lived his life entirely based on efficiency. It was a little disarming honestly, but Airi was well versed when it came to dealing with difficult people. "Good, because they sometimes have a tendency to attack people," Airlia said, with a small apologetic shrug. She really had better stop using that spell, especially when she was annoyed.

"You're welcome," Airi said, and now this was awkward, officially awkward, why was he so difficult to talk to? Airi almost thought he was doing it on purpose, probably torturing her for whatever reason, not that she wasn't enjoying it, which now that she thought about it, was really not a good thing. She didn't know when this weird attraction she had for Victor began, but it needed to stop, and soon, because Victor Vincenzi was just bad road.... Beautiful, beautiful, bad road.

"Tense? Um... Yeah, I guess I am a little tense... " Airi said, thoughtfully biting her lip and trying to decide whether he actually wanted to hear her problems or was being his usual polite self. "Ned and those guys are just being a bit... Well, honestly they're being idiots," Airi said, her aggravation getting the better of her.

“Ohhhh, yeah…” Vince fell into realization as Ned confirmed that Muggles had ‘fancy dress parties’ and got ‘smashed’. Yes, yes… yes, this all sounded correct. Vince nodded his head.

And then Ned was painting the most beautiful of pictures on the Gryffindor’s mind - Slytherin girls. In. Sexy. Costumes.
By the time Ned was done speaking, Vince was still staring off into space with a stupid lopsided grin on his face. It was a surprise he wasn’t drooling over himself, too. It took him a few moments longer than it should, to snap out of his daydream and realize that Ned had been done describing the whole scene a minute ago.

WAIT.
A fancy dress party at the Shrieking Shack?! Had he heard right?! This meant— this meant— that dream he just had, it would become a reality!
Sparkly-eyed, Vince returned his attention to Ned. “That’s bloody brilliant, mate,” he agreed, all earlier fears of entering a possibly murderer-and-thief-infested abandoned haunted house completely gone. PSH. Who cares about THAT when there’s hot girls involved?! He’d take that risk any day. “When do you think we could do it?” Would tonight be too soon? He really wanted to see that Katie Berkman girl dressed as a hot nurse.




Victor could sense the discomfort emanating from poor Airi as she just stood there, and a sick twisted part of him secretly enjoyed it. He wasn’t sure why, it was probably just cruel nature from his part, but watching Airi squirm and shrink under his gaze was a strangely satisfying experience for him. Probably because the girl - totally the opposite of him - didn’t seem very skilled in the art of hiding her thoughts and emotions from her features. It was entertaining to watch her every emotion play on her face like a moving picture.

The boy said nothing as Airi confirmed that she was tense, merely watching her with furrowed brows until she finally gave in and provided him the details he wanted to hear.

Huh. So Ned was involved. No surprise there. He wasn’t sure who ‘those guys’ were, but if the word ‘idiot’ was part of her description, he assumed perhaps his brother was involved as well. And Airi looking so aggravated over it was no surprise either, but still Victor had to ask, “What are they up to this time?” As the nosy, bossy one of the group, he needed to know what he was about to go and forcibly involve himself in before any invitations arrived.

Airi’s little comment barely ruffled Fion’s feathers. “What about the breath it took to say that?,” she replied idly, shrugging off the attempt at explaining away the safety of the Hogwarts ghosts. None of that changed her opinion, and she knew that there was at least one of the Hogwarts ghosts who was hardly good natured. Plus, there was another little detail that she couldn’t stop herself from pointing out as well. Poking at Saint Airi was apparently a common sport, and she wasn’t one to resist. “I’d hardly call the Baron a good person, or have you forgotten his story?” In fact, he seemed like maybe he would have been better off out in the Shack with those murderers that kept being mentioned. Either way, she wasn’t afraid of a few supposedly evil spirits, but then, she wasn’t afraid of much. She didn’t think anyone was convinced otherwise, either. Not anyone who knew her.

She wasn’t fooled into thinking anyone at the table currently had any assumptions about her that weren’t true. Airi might not like what she did most of the time, but lucky for her she didn’t generally worry about if anyone liked her actions other than herself. “Anything I want, hmm?,” she replied, leaning forward slightly as Ned had, keeping the conspiratiorial nature to it all even as she’d kept herself from sending an amused look over at Vince. She could get all of those itemson her own. She didn’t need the boys to provide them for her, except the last option did get her attention. “Awfully violent there, aren’t you Vincey,” she commented. “Now what would I do with that?” Besides, she didn’t have enemies. The people who frowned on her activities were just annoying, not enemies. On which note, she’d heard Airi getting up and taking her leave, to which the Ravenclaw had gotten an idle wave. There wasn’t a need to comment on the advice. She didn’t try to get into trouble. Wasn’t her fault people considered half of her ideas as trouble.

She’d leaned back in the chair again as the two boys had gone off on the topic of Halloween and girls in sexy costumes, checking her nails just to occupy her time. She could care less about what they were after, if it wasn’t going to lead to fun for her. “Trick or treat,” she murmured wickedly, though, the ghost of a smirk on her pretty face. Now that part seemed like fun for her, but if it meant pulling more people in on the little game of proving they could survive a night in the Shack, she had that. They could have their little male fantasies, as long as she still got to prove she wasn’t going to run scared. She still didn’t think there were any thieves or murderers hiding out there, unless they were ghosts, and what could a ghost do to her?

Sorry to break the RPing going on already but my charrie was supposed to be William and Dee's was Robert. Awkward.

Also, sorry I'm late. I'm gonna read up and then jump in!

Ned was laughing far too loudly now, he couldn't help it, the look on Vince's face as he zoned out, no doubt imagining all those beautiful women, in all those sexy costumes. Ned was surprised he hadn't turned into a cartoon wolf or something of the like.

"What can I say, I'm a natural born genius," Ned grinned as Vince called his idea brilliant, it truly was one of his better ones (including the time he put a hot tub into the Slytherin Common Room), and he couldn't wait to get it into action.
"I'd like to get it started tonight, though... that would require some help... What do you say Fion darling? Are you up to helping us in our little endeavor?" Ned said, turning his attention to the young woman, he already knw the answer would be yes, but Ned always felt that ladies deserved to be treated with a little more decorum, especially when they were lovely.

"What the hell are we still doing in here? Let's go outside or something," Ned said, gathering his things and throwing them unceremoniously into his book bag.



Right, Victor didn't know yet, if only he had been there at the time, maybe he would have been able to put a stop to Ned's nonsense, then again, knowing Victor he probably would have just called them all idiots, laughed and done nothing.

Laughing lightly at the ridiculousness of her statement, and also at the fact that she was confiding to Victor Vincenzi of all people Airi started to explain; "Vianna and Ned made a stupid bet, which only happened because Ned was being insensitive and you know how Vi is, she just had to teach him a lesson," Airi said, gesturing with her hands as she spoke, a bad habit she had when she was flustered, goodness, she hoped he didn't realize how much of that was because of him.

"And well, the gist of it is that Ned is going to get himself killed by spending a night in the Shrieking Shack," Airi finished, her cheeks tinged pink from her agitation.

OOC: It's cool James, just jump in when you can.

Vince shrugged as Fion asked what she could possibly do with her enemies’ heads on stakes. “Decorate the girls’ dormitories,” he suggested casually, as if they were talking about a vase with pretty flowers or a new lamp. “You never did tell us what you wanted,” the boy pointed out a moment later. Not that he was all that eager to go out of his way to please someone else, but he was a little curious. If it wasn’t her enemies’ heads, what DID a girl like Fion want?

Vince laughed and rolled his eyes as Ned arrogantly decided that he was a genius. “Such modesty,” he commented sarcastically, a comment rather ironic to hear coming from him of all people. Anyway, Vince’s mind was elsewhere - the party. And, most importantly, getting the party to HAPPEN that very night. Now that Ned had painted all these tempting images in his head, he couldn’t be expected to just sit back and wait! He wanted hot girls in sexy costumes and he wanted them now. Hmph.

“Let’s go.” The boy rose to his full height and picked up his bag from the floor (which usually just carried a piece of parchment and a quill), swinging it over one shoulder as Ned gathered his own things.




Victor listened with furrowed brows as Airi began to very animatedly explain the situation: Ned. Vianna. Stupid bets. Shrieking Shack. Why did absolutely nothing in this story surprise him? Probably because he’d known Ned for seven years now, and Vianna for all his life. Those two left unattended almost always resulted in bad news. He had to admit, though, they had reached a whole new level of stupid by adding the Shrieking Shack to the mix.

“I think that might be a bit extreme,” the boy commented as Airi came to the conclusion that Ned was going to die.

And oh, speak of the devil.
Just at that moment, Vince and Ned happened to be exiting the library, coming into clear view of the Slytherin boy. “Hall. Vince.” Though he didn’t call out, the boy’s voice echoed loud enough to be heard by his brother who turned his gaze in his direction at that moment and grinned. “So I hear one of you is on a suicide mission." His eyes were locked on his best mate, obviously already knowing which of the two boys had agreed to spend a night at the Shrieking Shack.

"We're having a party!" Vince blurted out as greeting, his expression reflecting the kind of excitement you'd find on a child's face on Christmas morning.

"I'm not so sure," Airi ruefully replied, shaking her head, at the boys quick dismissal. Airlia put nothing past Ned, he was easily the most danger seeking human being she had ever met, sometimes she wondered if it was some mental thing, something from his childhood that had shaped him into the irresponsible man he was today.

If Ned had been feeling any dread about going into the Shrieking Shack earlier, it was now completely and utterly eradicated by alluring promise of the party that was soon to come. If Ned Hall lived for anything, it was a party, he was the self-proclaimed King of Partying at Hogwarts and, seeing as it was his last year, he was going to make this party, the party to end all others.
Ned grinned as he rounded the corner with Vince and found a flustered looking Airi and Victor chatting together.

"I am, yeah, and also, what Vince said," Ned laughed, hoisting his book bag more securely on his broad shoulder. "It'll be a fancy dress party... In the Shack," He added.

"That's actually... A good idea, Ned, your genius is showing," Airi said with a full hearted laugh, relief flooding through her as she realized just how difficult it would be for danger to befall Ned if he was surrounded by so many of their contemporaries.

"I'm glad you think so doll," Ned said, beaming at Airi's comment, maybe if he was lucky he could get her to help him out too.

"What about you Vincenzi? Gonna get involved?" Ned asked, grinning up at his taller friend, though it turned into a look amused suspicion. "What are you two doing out here... All alone and Airi all flushed," Ned asked, taking in the girl's appearance. Was this why she had so abruptly ditched them? So she could meet up with the oldest Vincenzi for a secret rendezvous? He had always kind of suspected that she had a thing for him.

Victor’s cold gaze went back and forth between Ned and his brother as the one related to him suddenly announced there was a party coming up, while the other confirmed the fact. Alright, seriously, could this day get ANY more predictable? First the stupid dares, now a party? And a ‘fancy dress party’, no less.

That bloody git Ned Hall.
Even Victor, serious as he liked to seem, couldn’t help but chuckle at his best mate’s genius. Of COURSE he would find a way to turn his misfortune into an event to celebrate. What better way to get through Vianna’s dare than by turning it into a party no one would want to miss? The young man really was brilliant, and it only made Victor appreciate his friendship with him even more.

“For once I agree with Mondai,” he said, lips curved in a devious little smile. “But you’d be mad to think Vi’s not plotting a plan of her own as we speak.” Knowing his little sister better than he even knew himself, Victor could bet his life that Vianna was already developing plans of her own. It would be an interesting battle to see. Though he’d never admit it, he was rather looking forward to it.

Vince scoffed. “PFT. I doubt Vi could come up with anything as genius as this. Ned’s totally got this in the bag,” he declared confidently. Clearly, all his money and faith was on the Englishman, and Vianna would be naive to think she’d have his support.

And then Ned was asking Victor if he’d get involved. The Italian let out a humourless laugh. “Of course not.” And in this case, HE would be naive to think Ned wouldn’t find some way to drag him down with him, even if Victor really planned to stay out of this one. He had NEWTs to prepare for and potions to master, ever the dedicated student.

As Ned went on to tease both him and Airi about their accidental meet-up, the Slytherin boy smiled slightly, his gaze falling upon the flustered little Ravenclaw again. “I was wondering how long it’d take you to notice,” he said, returning his gaze to Ned. “Mondai and I were obviously enjoying a friendly snog before you two gits interrupted us.”

Vince gasped dramatically, eyes wide as he failed to catch his brother’s sarcasm. “I KNEW IT! I bloody knew it!”

A fancy dress party, well that meant Airi would need a costume, because she was going, she might be the responsible one of their little group, but that didn't mean she didn't like to party and let go now and then. Airi could use a good party, she had been wearing herself thin lately with her tutoring business, and not to mention her studies, this party was just what she needed.
Also, someone sane had to be around to make sure everything went smoothly.

"You agree with me? The world must be ending... " Airi said, a ghost of a smirk on her pretty face, her previous nervousness gone with the appearance of the boys, because as long as she wasn't alone with Victor, Airi found she could behave quite normally. The young woman nodded at Victor's words, there was no way the youngest Vincenzi was going to go easy on Ned, oh no, she had to be planning something.

"I am not even remotely worried about Vianna, I mean... What could she possibly do? I certainly can't think of anything," Ned blindly said, not even bothering to give it any thought, he was far too invested in the party idea to even consider being worried about Vianna. "See, Vinny agrees with me," Ned smirked, playfully elbowing the Gryffindor in the ribs. He couldn't hep himself, he just loved to pick on the duller boy and that included poking and prodding him.

"You say so now, but just wait, you'll change your tune," Ned grinned. Victor might be the manipulative genius, but Ned was a charming snake, easily able to talk even the most resolute and stubborn of people into doing what he liked, and that also went for his best friend.

At Ned's comment; Airlia's blush returned with a vengeance and she could only laugh to hide her embarrassment, and then Victor spoke and the young girl felt her stomach do a little backflip. "Yeah, actually, um could you come back in say... fifth teen minutes? We weren't quite finished," Airi said, hiding her emotions behind the joke.

Ned and Airlia both rolled their eyes as the joke went completely over Vince's head, as usual the boy was completely out of the loop. "It's a joke Vince," Airi said, eager to put the whole thing aside.

Vince’s little daydreams hardly gained Fion’s notice, although she had looked up from her fingernails as he’d offered up a suggestion for what she’d do with his earlier suggestion. “I’m sure the other girls would really appreciate that,” she replied, still smirking a little. It amused her that he thought she was so vicious. Fighting was one thing, but that didn’t mean she was particularly bloodthirsty. Just impulsive, focused, and apparently the family troublemaker. Just as apparently not far from what he was. She just wasn’t half as afraid of the consequences, which was likely why Ned hadn’t had any issue with including her in this little plan. “I’ll let you know when I think of it, Vince dear.” Honestly, she could care less about them actually giving her anything, as long as she got a bit of amusement out of it all.

She was at least amused by the concept of the Slytherin as a natural born genius, showing that by a barely disguised eye roll at both boys’ comments on the matter. Everyone knew who the real genius here was. She just used her skills to get into things that people generally thought weren’t logical. She wasn’t a Ravenclaw like Airi was, after all. Logic didn’t have to be something she worried about. It didn’t seem to be one of theirs either, and she wasn’t about to stop them. “I’d guess you already know the answer to that question, Ned darling,” she replied, copying his demeanor just because she knew it was all an act. “I’ll meet you out there in a few,” she continued, standing back up as the other two had gathered their things and started heading back out of the library. She had to make sure that Madame Geraldine hadn’t burned a hole in the carpet or something with that glare, first. She certainly didn’t have any belongings to gather up.

She’d made it back out into the corridor in time to hear Vince’s dramatics, though, as well as Airi’s reaction. “You can make a joke, Airi?,” she commented, raising an eyebrow at the tableau she’d come out into. Of course, essentially the entire group was at least ahead taller than her, but that didn’t matter. She could hold her own. “Thought we were heading outside.” She hadn’t thought it would have been so easy to catch up to them, but then, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or another Vincenzi mini reunion. “You know you really are free to join in. More the merrier and all that,” she added. It didn’t bother her being outnumbered by guys, as long as one of them wasn’t her perfect brother.

Vince rubbed at his side when Ned poked him, nodding his head in further agreement with the young Slytherin. There was nothing his little sister could come up with that would beat the idea of a party at the Shrieking Shack. Absolutely nothing.

Victor found their lack of concern to be naive but said nothing more on the matter, chuckling just very slightly to himself as Ned went on to very confidently decide that his Italian friend would be joining the party. “We’ll see,” he responded, not wanting to make any promises he couldn’t keep, regardless of whether the promise was to attend or to stay far away.

Both brothers momentarily turned matching blue eyes upon Fion as the girl suddenly joined the group, and Vince furrowed his brows when she muttered something about Airi making jokes and the Ravenclaw herself told him she was only joking.

“I don’t get it,” he said, his features confused. “That’s not funny. Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was just a lie!”

Victor sighed softly to himself. He usually made an effort to be patient and explain things to his brother when he didn’t understand something (which was usually always), but this time he decided to let it be. The boy returned his attention to Fion as the Gryffindor girl announced he was free to join in the mischief. Wasn’t this the Aubrey girl that was always costing Gryffindor at least thirty points on a daily basis? He wasn’t very familiar with her but could see why Ned would want her on his team for this ridiculous dare party thing.

“And when exactly is this party taking place?”

“We should do it tonight,” suggested an eager Vince, usual grin back on his face. “Airi, why don’t you go set up the Shrieking Shack while Ned and I recruit people?” he added, as if he was just asking the girl to complete some mundane task, not risk her life sneaking into a haunted, possibly Azkaban-escapee-infested haunted house.

"Yeah, contrary to popular belief, I do have a sense of humor," Airi playfully said, hiding her bruised feelings behind her words. Was the Flon ever sincere? Or at least polite? All evidence seemed to point to no. Airi didn't understand it, she was sure that under Fion's rebellious attitude there lay an intelligent and genuine person, Airi just couldn't see it right then.

Did I miss something here? Ned thought, watching the exchange between the two young women, they seemed like they were fooling around, but Ned had never seen Airi look so pointedly polite, like she was trying to prove something. He would have to ask about this later, for now, he had a party to attend to.

"There is no time for the explanation of jokes, (unless Victor here wants to handle it) we have things to do ladies and gents," Ned said, snapping his fingers as if it could make them all move faster. "Yes, we are heading outside, but first... We have recruiting to do, which shouldn't take long at all," Ned said, answering Fion's earlier question about where they were heading.

"Tonight? Goodness, you boys sure do work fast," Airi said, she would have been surprised but, knowing Ned and Vince's tenaciousness she had almost expected it.

"Well, you know me Airi, I don't like to do anything half-heartedly," Ned laughed, wrapped his arm around Fion's petite shoulders (which was a little more difficult then he had expected considering she was so small).

"I could be wrong here, but I don't exactly remember signing up for decorating committee," Airlia said, already deciding that no, she was not going to the shack alone, even if it was the middle of the day.

“What?! Aw c’mon, if not the decorating then what exactly are you going to do?” Vince complained as Airi decided she wouldn’t be sneaking into the Shack just to put up pretty decorations with, hopefully, the permission of a group of serial killers. Besides, the boy didn’t trust the girl with recruiting; she’d probably only invite fellow nerds. Like those McGillwhatever twins.

Victor watched the whole exchange between the others with vague amusement before deciding it was time to continue with his day. The boy had always been first at his best mate’s parties, but there was one thing he certainly didn’t want to bother with: preparations. Nope. Vic was not the kind of guy you could count on if you wanted him to help set-up for the same party he was being invited to. Just call him when everything’s good and ready.

“Very well. Good luck, Hall,” he said, giving his friend a smile. “I’ll see you in the common room later.” He turned to the others and gave a little farewell bow before leaving the group to continue on his original path down to the first floor, where he needed to meet up with his Charms professor before heading to his next class.

Vince gave his brother a little wave of his hand and turned to the others. “So. Shall we get to work?” he asked, beaming.




Meanwhile, on the ground floor….
Vianna stood by a large painting featuring nothing but a lonely green pear. She tickled the canvas of the painting until it swung open, revealing one of her favourite places in the entire castle - the kitchen. Watching loyal little elves running from one side to the next, preparing all the delicious treats that the students had the privilege of enjoying on a daily basis, Vianna walked inside.

Mmmmmmmm.
She inhaled deeply, closing her blue eyes with a smile as she took in the scent of the freshly-cooked food. This was the place. The place where she’d first met a certain ghost that, despite being a member of the afterlife, had not given up on certain perks of living: like tasting delicious food.

Opening her eyes again, Vianna looked around the large kitchen for any signs of a shadowy figure with bright green eyes.