Barnabas the Barmy
 

A moving tapestry depicts Barnabas attempting to train trolls for the ballet.

anyone?
 

Because she still had a lot of time to kill 'till she had to meet her friend, Gwendolyn decided to continue exploring the castle on her own. While walking slowly along the seventh floor corridor, the girl spotted something from a considerable distance. Finally getting closer, she realized it was a moving tapestry. Wait- what? 'Trolls? Ballet? PSH', she mumbled to herself. What could be more silly than this?!, the Ravenclaw asked herself while scanning the tapestry.

'It's old. Ancient' Not to mention- Stupid. Why would anyone want to keep this in the castle? Though, I have to admit- it's kind of funny, Gwen thought and started grinning when noticing the faces of the trolls. Priceless.

For Ella ;)
 

Were the rumours true? About the Room of Requirement? She didn't know...she wasn't sure. Apparently, while every other house knew about it, Slytherins were'nt in o the huge secret...and so, here she was, in front of a ridiculous looking tapestry of trolls doing ballet, something that they should never, ever, ever do. EVER.

No wonder the tapestry was named Barnabas the Barmy. Pft.

Cass looked up and down the hall and not for the first time wondered...was she at the right place?

Wandering around a random corner.. on a random floor Thea stopped suddenly. Oh fabulous. Thea immediantly recognised the older Slytherin who was dithering by Barnabas the Barmy.. What to do now?!?!?!
Shaking back her dark hair, Thea took a deep breath and stepped forward. Folding her arms slightly, Thea smiled. 'Hi!' She said quickly, hoping to give the girl a shock as she had her back to Thea.

The Gryffindor took another step forward, with a curious expression on her face. 'What are you doing?..' The answer was sort of obvious. Well to ~Thea it was. What was on this floor? On this corridoor? The Room of Requirement. The third year resisted a smirk. Cass obviously couldn't find her way in.

Turning away from the absolutely disgusting, but oddly interesting tapestry of pirouetting trolls, Cass was momentarily surprised to find the girl that she had met...last year? She couldn't bee too sure. All her years in Hogwaets just seemed to blend with one another, confusing her to no ends.

"Oh, hey!" She replied, returning her smile. It seemed impolite not to do so, and that was the last thing she wanted to be. Impolite. After all, the girl in front of her was as feisty as a Slytherin. Not someone you wanna mess with really. "What's up?"

The blonde then shrugged at the question. "Room of Requirement." She simply answered, as if that explained everything. "I'm not looking to get in, not really. I mean, what would I do with a room that would adapt to my needs if I didn't have any at the moment?" Right..? Right?? "I just wanna know if it's real." She added as she glanced at the dark haired girl. "Is it?"

Thea clasped her hands together behind her back and rocked on the balls of her feet a bit. Her head again, went to the side and she smiled. 'Yeah! Of course it is..' She had only been in it once herself.. but that totally made it real.
The Gryffindor shrugged. 'Good point..' She pouted. Now what?.. She had madea nosy enquiry as to what Cass was doing and she'd found out.. So what else could they talk about? 'No homework today?..' She flashed the Slytherin grin. That was after all, what she had been doing the first time they had met! Bit of a stupid thing to say really, as she obviously didn't have any to do at that moment...

Mashing her lips together, Thea tried to think of something else to say, or to comment on. Anything really.

"So, its behind this tapestry?" Cass asked as she lifted a tiny bit of the heavy tapestry and sneezed at the amount of dust that had fallen off as she did so. She covered her mouth and nose with her other hand and peeked beneath the dirty tapestry and was disappointed to find only the same gray stone wall.

"Oh, I guess not." She finally said as she let the dusty corner go with a sneeze, sending dust everywhere. "Sor--sneeze--ry." She managed to say as she brought out her handkerchief and pressed it against the opening of her nose.

Then she grinned up at her and laughed "No, no homework today. Thank Merlin." She answered "Between revising for OWLs and other things, I'm surprised I even found time to go around and look for secret rooms!"

"How was your summer, by the way?" She suddenly asked, she recalled that she mentioned that she liked spending holidays at home, with her brothers and Cass couldn't help but wonder if she enjoyed it this time.

Sweet, sweet seclusion. Emrys wasn't sure if it was the, well, rather nauseating site of trolls dancing that kept people away or if they were just too concentrated on their coming and going and not where they were, but what he did know what that he could sit here and just not be bothered.

Back against the cool wall, Emrys pulled his knees to his chest and closed his eyes. His bag, full of books, sat beside him, but for the moment, he was just going to sit here and relish the fact that he was alone.

going with the good old literally bumping into you system XD
 

Book bag practically dragging on the floor because of its weight, Kurumi waddled down the corridor with two destinations in mind. One was the Owlery where she needed to deliver some overdo letters to Jonathan, her family, and Lexi. The other was, well, to be determined really. All the Gryffindor knew was that she wanted to get out of the common room and find a quiet place to just be.

And, by just being she really meant lose herself in her studies.

Not that she really needed any reason to lose herself, because she was doing a fine job of that right now and had entirely spaced out to everything around her besides the weight of the bag on her shoulder. Kurumi's right hand traced the contours of the wall as she walked until...

*FLOP*

She tripped over something...or someone...and landed with her face planted against the stone floor.

His eyes were closed when he felt the bump against his bag and then his leg. They were open by the time he heard the girl hit the floor.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Emrys shot up onto his knees and slid along the floor so that he was near where her head had landed. "Are you ok?"

He tapped her on the shoulder as the muggle first aid lady had taught him in the class his mother had made him take.

What else did he need to do? Was she breathing?

Oh merlin, oh merlin. Emrys' palms began to sweat as he waited to see whether the girl was ok, panic churning in his stomach.

The floor was...cold. Really cold. Shouldn't it be warmer considering that it was April now? Not that it really matter, she supposed.

Slowly, Kurumi pushed herself up off the floor and picked up a few of the books that had fallen out of her bag - mostly Care of Magical Creatures related - and dusted off her robes. "N-N-No need for you to apologize," she said, already beginning her bowing routine, each one deeper than the previous. "I-I should have been paying more attention to where I was going..."

Books back in her bag, Kurumi looked at the poor person she had tripped over. "Are...you alright?" She had kind-of-sort-of just squished him after all.

Emrys stood as she did, arms out in case she toppled. W-was she bowing? "No, no no no. Please don't apologize." He shook his head and waved his hands. "It was my fault, really. Hiding against the wall like that, with my stuff everywhere..."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm fine. A little jumpy, perhaps, but physically fine."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Emrys bit his bottom lip and looked her over. A little dusty, perhaps, but nothing looked hurt. But really, who could tell with those robes?

Hiding against the wall? Was that even possible? Kurumi shook her head and kept on bowing anyway. what a scene this was. Two people who apparently felt the need to apologize profusely about everything and were somewhat socially awkward on a first meeting. That last bit was just something Kurumi was assuming, seeing as they both were floundering here.

"I'm alright," she said, finally ceasing her bowing. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Good. He didn't seem to have any school shoe marks on his clothing, so she hadn't stomped on him at least. She then saw all his books. Oh Merlin! Had she just interrupted his studying mojo? She hated it when people did that to her. "Oh my stars, did I interrupt your studying? I'm sorry."

And we were back to bowing again.

They were going to be stuck in an apology circle all afternoon, but he had to smile as he saw her begin to as well. At least she stopped bowing!

"My studying? Oh, goodness no." He laughed. "I had my eyes closed. I come down here to get away. Until you tripped, I've gone unnoticed here most of the term. It doesn't get much traffic." It was true. Whether it was the fact that there were few reasons to come up to the towers or that the trolls were so horrific that people just sped through this area, he wasn't sure.

He looked at her bowing again, and bent to try to get at her level the next time she did. "You really don't have to do that. It's completely my fault."

We can stand up straight now?

Oh. At least she hadn't interrupted him studying. Kurumi knew how hard it could be to get into the right mind frame to be able to really hit the books, so she was thankful for that. However, hearing that she had interrupted his state of escape brought a small frown to her face - even if he insisted that it was alright.

"Interesting choice of location to get away to," she said with a small giggle. Maybe he had an interest in trolls? Or...perhaps he had a dream of becoming a ballerina himself and was looking to get pointers from Barnabas? She had always been rather freaked out by the moving tapestry to be honest.

"Do...what? OH!" she exclaimed with an instant flush to her cheeks. "Sorry, um, it's a habit or, erm, custom I suppose." The bowing that is. Realizing that she hadn't introduced herself despite tripping over him, Kurumi's cheeks flushed a bit more. "I'm...Kurumi by the way."

Awkward.

Emrys smiled. "Not interesting at all," he said matter-of-factly. "And that's the point." He chuckled awkwardly. "No one sticks around long enough to be a bother and it's quiet for the most part." He dropped his voice. "So, uh.. let's keep that our secret, yeah? I rather like it being as quiet as it is."

When she flushed, Emrys felt a little more at ease. It was helpful when the other person was a little awkward too. "Emrys," he said, by way of introduction.

"Would you like to share my wall?"

that last bit...reminds me of Moaning Myrtle XD
 

"Consider your secret safe with me," she said, giving him a rather awkward two finger salute. It was always nice to have a spot that you could call your own. Your own quiet sanctuary. Come to think of it, Kurumi wasn't sure that she had one for herself at Hogwarts. Sure, she had the kitchens and the library, but everyone came in and out of there.

"Emrys," she repeated, trying to put the name to memory. It was a unique name, so she SHOULD be able to remember it.

She laughed again and nodded. "Thank you, for sharing your wall," she replied as she slid down it into a sitting position facing the really odd piece of artwork. "I've always wondered why anyone would want to teach trolls how to do ballet...or do you suppose the trolls asked him to teach them?" Either notion was rather...far fetched in the Gryffindor's eyes.

Emrys snorted as she saluted. Clasping his hands over his mouth and nose, his eyes were wide. He hoped that she didn't think he was laughing at her, but he did not try to explain it away. Awk.ward.

Sliding down the wall to face the tapestry, he leaned his head against the cold stone and tilted it toward her as he talked. "Well, I suppose if you wanted to create some sort of oddity to draw attention, trolls trying to do something as elegant as dance could be humorous?" Emrys shrugged. That was his leading theory. Either that or Barnabas was pure bonkers.

"I am kinda curious how he kept them from bludgeoning him to death, though."

He snorted? What was the snort for? Had she said something funny? Maybe it was the salute? It was something that she had picked up from her brothers - but they were sort of weird anyway. Kurumi decided not to comment though. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to know the truth anyway. It would probably only make her more flustered.

"Hmm...you do have a point," she said with a nod. "Still, dragons roasting marshallows with their own fire could accomplish the same thing." Granted, marshmallows were not exactly an ancient delicacy so it was entirely likely that roasting marshmallows hadn't been 'invented' around the time this tapestry had been created.

Not THAT was a morbid thought. "Yeah...one man and eight trolls...the odd clearly were not in his favor. Maybe he knew how to speak troll? " Which was rumored not to be very hard. "Barnabas could have been a skilled magical multi-linguists." Which would be really really neat. Kurumi wished she could speak a magical tongue.

last one for me tonight
 

Emrys laughed. "I can see it now. Dragons roast swimming pool full of marshmallows, town eats year's worth of s'mores." He gestured grandly in front of him as if pointing to a billboard, the laugh becoming a deeper, more forceful belly laugh.

Winding down into a wheezy, asthmatic sort of sigh, Emrys set his hand back in his lap.

"I think your linguistics theory has some merit," he acknowledged, looking at her and back at the tapestry. "Or some sort of charm. Or maybe he was just a really great weaver and wanted everyone to think he worked with trolls."

He scratched his chin. "If he was a linguist, do you think there's a tapestry somewhere of him teaching merpeople how to juggle?"

Kurumi couldn't help but giggle. Sometimes you really needed a little bit of nonsense to take your mind of things and that is exactly what she was getting now. "I've...actually never had a s'more before," she admitted. There had been a s'more party in the Gryffindor common room during her third year that Lexi had started, but she never actually got around to eating one seeing as she had been too busy socializing. "Are they...good?"

Looking back at the tapestry now, Kurumi couldn't help by now sort of compare this man to Lockhart. Was it possible that the man was really only good at weaving spells or charms and the only way to sell his works was to make up elaborate stories about himself? Well, anything was possible in the wizarding world.

"Maybe. I think I'd like that one better than this one," she nodded. Hogwarts was full of tapestries and moving portraits. "I've heard Mermish is rather difficult to learn. My godfather can speak it and he tried to teach me some of it once...but nothing really stuck with me."

Emrys turned to look at Kurumi, skeptical and surprised at her lack of s'more experience. "Well, I think it depends on how well they're made," he said rather matter-of-factly. "If the chocolate doesn't melt too, then all you have is gooey marshmallow and cold chocolate. But when everything melts together, it's a gooey bite of wonderfulness." He nodded rather definitively.

"Though, if you really want something good, banana boats are the way to go." Mm. Emrys smiled, remembering the "camp outs" that his parents would do in the backyard for him when going camping with other children just wasn't an option.

Back to the conversation on language, Emrys nodded, rather impressed. "I have no talent for languages, often evidenced by the fact that I struggle with this one, sometimes." He was, of course, referring to his bumbling and stumbling. "Does your godfather work with other magical, erm, beings?"

That did not sound like a field Emrys had any interest in.

Was that an eyebrow raise? Or had she just imagined that there had been one in regards to the entire s'mores conversation? She had actually hardly ever had marshmallows as they were rather uncommon in her hometown. The ones she had had usually had some sort of fruity jelly-like filling. "It sounds...messy," she said, slightly wrinkling her nose. "N-N-Not that it doesn't sound delicious...because it does!"

And then she was back to cocking her head to the side. "Banana boat?" He was going to have to explain that one. Did it actually involve bananas?

"I grew up in a bilingual home, so I suppose my brain is just used to picking it up," she said with a shy shrug. Her shyness sort of dissipated when he made what she hoped was a joke, and she giggled. "If you ask Professor Lafay, she would say that I am the same." She was always stuttering in front of the woman. When he asked about her godfather, Kurumi really wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't really know him all THAT well. "Um...well...he used to be in a band and picked up a thing or to from traveling." She actually didn't know what he did now since he had left the Ministry.

these are real. and delicious.
 

Emrys grew uncharacteristically excited and actually leaned forward, turning his body toward her. "First, you cut into a banana, through the peel, lengthwise but don't go all the way through. It sorta looks like a boat, open on the top and not on the bottom. Then you open up where you made the cut and stuff it with marshmallow and chocolate." Emrys gestured as if there were a banana in his hand. "Then, you wrap the whole thing in.. in.." he paused and bit his lip, searching for the word. "Aluminum foil, I think the muggles call it, and throw it at the base of a fire to get warm and melty. After a bit, you pull it out, unwrap it without burning yourself, and eat the chocolatey, marshmallowy, banana goodness with a spoon, with the peel as the bowl." He dropped his hands into his lap and smiled. After a moments pause, he cocked his head thoughtfully. "I suppose you could even make them in the fireplace in the common room."

He wrinkled his nose in a sort of silent giggle when she smiled. "I get nervous," he admitted softly, dropping his gaze a bit. "And then I just trip over my words." He scratched the back of his head, looking away. "I. I'm.. I'm not good with people." The self-consciousness was back a bit, which meant so was the stutter.

*staaaaaaaaaaaaaare*

Woah. This dessert or whatever it was sounded complicated yet simple all at the same time. Kurumi thought that she knew about food, but the things that Emrys was talking about were completely foreign to her. Granted, camp fires and that whole thing were just not popular things to do where she came from. "Wow..." She really was just rendered speechless. Really, how did you respond to something like that? "I've never even heard of that before!" But she had now, and she really wanted to try one.

All eyes were on him when he spoke again and Kurumi couldn't help but smile. "You don't seem that way to me," she said honestly. She felt like she had been the one to stumble over her words and being self-consciousness. "You...actually seem to be rather confident." Even if he was hanging out around ballet dancing trolls.