It was early. SO early. The whole way to Fuller's office, they hadn't passed a soul in the corridors - it seemed they were awake before the whole castle. Which was a normal thing for Sophie and Toby, really, since they went running at this same time every morning - but being inside the castle and tiptoeing around was a little unnerving. Especially considering today's circumstances.

With both buckets in her grasp, Soph reached Fuller's office door, their footsteps as silent as could be. Grinning at her accomplice, she handed one bucket over to Tobes so he could do his thing, set the other on the ground verrrrryyy softly and carefully so it was out of the way, and set to work veryyyy, very quietly performing the tripwire spell Fuller had taught her while Tobes did his part.

He'd be so impressed that she was such a good learner, wouldn't he?

Toby. Was. HYPED. DESPITE the early hour, that was. And also really quite in high spirits and having to stop himself from nervous giggling every thirty seconds or so. He couldn't help it though, he just kept getting these mental images of if this plan came to fruition.

It was probably strange, because Toby had always kept more or less under the radar at Hogwarts, and that was STILL the case for the most part. If he was TOTALLY honest, there was the occasional pang of guilt about what they were planning, just because Toby had always been so worried in the past about causing upset for someone. But with these two? He was pretty positive that they'd take it well. And also, Soph was rubbing off on him. Heh.

The Hufflepuff took the bucket from his Ravenclaw companion as they reached the door to the office and knelt on the floor a little way from the door. From his pocket he pulled out a huge handful of muggle water balloons, and from his other pocket, his wand. This would be tricky, because Toby didn't know wordless magic, but it was cool. It was fine.

"Mizurus Boru," the sixteen year old cast as quietly as he possibly could, holding one balloon in his hand and flicking his wand at it in that fiddly way he'd read about. See? SEE? This was a LEARNING EXPERIENCE. Fuller should totally be proud of them.

The balloon in his hand suddenly became full of water, effectively turning into a cool coloured watery orb. which Toby carefully placed into the bucket before hurriedly repeating the process over and over. "Mizurus Boru..."

He glanced up at Soph to see how she was doing, but didn't dare speak out loud. Merlin knew he had some awful volume control.

Her soul as free as a bird, entirely guilt-free, Sophie continued along, putting the utmost concentration into making sure the tripwire spell was performed well. Her first attempt was no good, but the second worked perfectly - and she couldn't help but beam at Tobes in triumph. HE was doing well, too, and she nodded at him in approval, too afraid to speak any more words than necessary aloud and awaken Fuller.

Her part done, though, she moved closer to Tobes and followed his lead, though she'd never cast that spell before, she managed it after a few tries by mimicking him until they were all set on water balloons. THUMBS UP.

With a grin, she moved to the side and gestured for him to go ahead with his placement charm so the bucket would hang above the door, already picking up the spare bucket so they could make a quick getaway as soon as he was done.

HEY LOOK. Help. That was good; now that Soph was helping fill the bucket with water balloons, it was getting done much quicker. Toby found himself grinning mischievously at Soph as she gave him the thumbs up, and nodded in response. He scooped up the rest of the unused waterballoons (which were for their NEXT target), and got back to his feet.

Toby raised his wand, pointed it at the bucket, and, as QUIETLY AS HE GOOD, cast the placement charm and transferred the bucket in front of him to a space right above the door.

"Fixate." Toby lowered his wand again, heart in his throat as he half expected the bucket to come crashing down again. BUT NOPE. There it was, floating up above the door where it was held up by the tripwire thing Soph had set up. As soon as someone, HOPEFULLY Fuller, on his way out of the office to breakfast in a short while, stepped over the threshold, the bucket would tip over in the air and the waterballoons would SPLOOSH onto PFH's head.

But it was pretty obvious at the moment, right? WELL, Toby had that covered too. He stretched uuuuuup onto his toes, staying WELL away from the door so as not to trigger it now, and tapped the bucket firmly with his wand, turning it, and its contents, invisible.

It wasn't a very good idea to hang around any longer than was necessary, so Toby turned to Soph, jerked his head down the corridor to indicate that they should LEAVE NOW and hurried far farrrrrrrrrrrrr away from the office, with Soph in tow.

Next port of call: the grounds.

Yaaaaaaaaaawn streeetch streeeeetch. It was early, but Piers couldn't sleep anymore. There was a rumbling in his stomach that could only be filled by the delicious tastes of Hogwarts breakfast. So, after getting up and dressed and taming his curly locks, Fuller walked out of his office door with another yawn....

..... only to suddenly be hit by a waterfall of water balloons.

"PFFFBTBTBFBTBFBTFBTTFFFFT!"

Piers sprayed the water out away from his face and shook his hair, sending more water flying away from him. Then he looked down on himself. COMPLETELY. SOAKED.

And then he laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed some more.

HAHAHAHA. Really, he should have expected this. He had taught her the tripwire spell after all. He DID have a reason to be suspicious. Piers was tempted to never teach her anything again.

"Sophie," he muttered with a sigh. And then he went back inside his office to change into some dry clothes. AND PLOT HER DEMISE.

Thornton approached the door cautiously and apprehensively. Professor Flamsteed had suggested a visit to Fuller, but Thornton hadn't really had any interaction with the man, and Thornton was convinced that he would be a bother.

Nevertheless, something had to be done, because he could not avoid his wand forever. And he preferred to get this out of the way before embarrassing himself in Charms as he had in Astronomy.

Raising a tiny fist, he knocked on the door. Tap tap tap.

As he was finishing his snack one afternoon, Piers heard a light knocking on his door. Since he was already up cleaning the jam he accidentally spilled on his trousers, he tucked his wand away and made his way over to open his door.

"Ello," he said, looking down at the very small student. A first year, no doubt. He couldn't recall his name just yet. "Would you like to come in?" Probably, since he was here. Fuller stepped aside and gestured for the boy to come in. There were comfy couches and a fireplace awaiting him.

Thornton bit his lip as the door opened and Professor Fuller addressed him. Nodding his head sheepishly, and silently, he looked past the man and into the office. Sighing, he made his way into the office and dropped his bag at the base of a couch, before sitting down. Hands in his lap, Thornton's eyes were fixed on his shoes as he swung his feet nervously.

Waiting for the man to also sit, he rehearsed in his head what he would say. What if the Professor told him that Thornton was wasting his time? What if he found out he really couldn't do magic and was going to have to go home?

Thornton chewed on the inside of his lip. Maybe this had been a bad idea...

Fuller shut the door behind the boy and watched him sit down. Well, he wasn't much of a talker, was he? He crossed the silent office and sat down at his chair behind his desk.

Still nothing, eh..?

.... "Would you like a cookie? Professor Thompson made them." Which meant they were delicious. Fuller scooted the tray towards the boy on the desk. He could help himself. And maybe introduce himself, if he liked.

"Professor Flamsteed suggested that I come see you," he said softly, as he reached for a cookie. "I.. I don't know if maybe he mentioned it? I'm Thornton Baines? I'm a first year..." Thornton paused, hoping he wouldn't have to explain in more detail.

But he continued anyway. "I'm... I'mhavingtroublewithspellwork." The statement fell out of his mouth all in a jumble and he looked down at this shoes again, the cookie uneaten in his hand.

"I can't do magic."

Oh, Flammy sent him did he? He wondered why. Fuller ate a cookie too and listened to the boy explain why he was here. It took a second for his brain to dejumble the spill of words the first year released, but when he did, Fuller set down his cookie and gave the boy a nod.

"Well, you certainly did get sent to the right place," he said confidently. "I used to be a Kwikspell instructor. Do you know what that is?"

Thornton's eyes shot up to look the professor straight on at the word Kwikspell. Was this THAT bad? Forget disappointing Father; this was enough to be sent away and forgotten about entirely.

The fear was plainly visible in his eyes as he nodded, silently. His grip on the cookie was tight and it started to crumble in his hand. He only noticed when a large chunk hit his leg and then dropped to the floor.

His cheeks flushed when he saw the crumbly mess he'd made and he frowned. "I apologize," he said softly.

There was possibly no way around this and the Gryffindor didn't need anyone to point that out for her. Charms class was about casting charms; spellwork essentially and with her wand suddenly growing legs and off taking a stroll, Lex was left in a fix. No wand no magic, no magic no class participation OR homework getting done. See the problem? She did and that was what brought her here today. If anyone would have a magic compromise it would be Fuller. He was the Charms man afterall.

Tap tap tap.

Lex tapped firmly at his door before taking a step back. It was always a bad idea to wait directly behind a door, just in case someone on the other side proved to be in a hurry. That was painful. She would know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmbiguouslyMe

Thornton's eyes shot up to look the professor straight on at the word Kwikspell. Was this THAT bad? Forget disappointing Father; this was enough to be sent away and forgotten about entirely.

The fear was plainly visible in his eyes as he nodded, silently. His grip on the cookie was tight and it started to crumble in his hand. He only noticed when a large chunk hit his leg and then dropped to the floor.

His cheeks flushed when he saw the crumbly mess he'd made and he frowned. "I apologize," he said softly.

Well... perhaps that wasn't a very good thing to say right off the bat. The kid looked rather horrified that he even mentioned it. And then a second later, his cookie was in a crumbled mess on the floor.

"That's okay, no worries." He wasn't too fussed about it. He could clean it up, in fact, maybe that's something they could both work on today if Thornton was up to it.

So he let the cookie stay there instead of cleaning it up. "Don't worry about it. It sounds scary, but it's not. You were accepted to Hogwarts, you can do magic. Why don't we start with you telling me what you can and can't do. What you're having trouble with... Can you perform any spells at all?" He needed some background information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

There was possibly no way around this and the Gryffindor didn't need anyone to point that out for her. Charms class was about casting charms; spellwork essentially and with her wand suddenly growing legs and off taking a stroll, Lex was left in a fix. No wand no magic, no magic no class participation OR homework getting done. See the problem? She did and that was what brought her here today. If anyone would have a magic compromise it would be Fuller. He was the Charms man afterall.

Tap tap tap.

Lex tapped firmly at his door before taking a step back. It was always a bad idea to wait directly behind a door, just in case someone on the other side proved to be in a hurry. That was painful. She would know.

Another day in the office, grading classwork. He was in the middle of giving scores when the charms professor heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, setting the assignment aside.

Oh thank Merlin he was in. Lex didn't wanna imagine having to make a second trip down here. She'd had to psyche herself up before tackling the staircases and she was doing a good job of not thinking about the return trip after...not that that mattered as much given she was meant to meet Lottie in the Library after. Horrid place that was.

Lex shoved the door open and walked in a bit hesitantly. "Helloooooo Professor Fuller." She noted the parchments stacked on his desk and assumed he'd been going through some of their work or another making him busy but this was important so...

"I need to have a word, if that's okay?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Oh thank Merlin he was in. Lex didn't wanna imagine having to make a second trip down here. She'd had to psyche herself up before tackling the staircases and she was doing a good job of not thinking about the return trip after...not that that mattered as much given she was meant to meet Lottie in the Library after. Horrid place that was.

Lex shoved the door open and walked in a bit hesitantly. "Helloooooo Professor Fuller." She noted the parchments stacked on his desk and assumed he'd been going through some of their work or another making him busy but this was important so...

"I need to have a word, if that's okay?"

Ah, look who it was. He wondered if he'd get a visit from her.

Fuller set down his pen and leaned back in his chair. "Depends," he said. "A word from the Head Girl, or a word from... what did you call yourself? The Mistress of all Evil?" Because he didn't want to talk to the second one.

....

.......

Mistress of All Evil?...Blink blink. "What...?" The hell?? "I'm not sure I'm following you Professor but I don't like talks as Head Girl and figured I could try for 'Alexa'...if that's okay--I mean I could try the Mistress of All Evil thing 'cept I'm not a Mistress." Lex was no one's side girl, got that? "Or you know we could just get to the point which I kinda don't know because I woke up on your desk and the dream suddenly went sour and you kept giving me looks and I nearly set the room on Fire with Grayson's wand and in all that I never got the work done."

A million words later, she'd gotten to the point that was the problem. No doubt she'd have gotten the spell right if she'd tried with her own but the main thing was probably Fuller marking her down for losing her wand.

"I can't find my wand either." In case that helped any.

.............

....... "Are you trying to tell me you were sleepwalking?" And sitting. And talking. And threatening to destroy him if he didn't find her book... It seemed a bit of a stretch. Yes, he had noticed that she hadn't gotten any work in and now she decided to tell him she couldn't find her wand?

Fuller sighed. "So, what's your point? What are you suggesting, Miss Cambridge?" He could call her that now, he assumed.

"I don't sleep walk Professor, ever. That's not me. I dunno what it was. There was this giggling book in the restricted section....then a really happy feeling and...and I think I was a Queen...then your desk." Saying it out loud, it made even less sense than she thought. None of those had anything to do with each other. Quite the odd dream it was too but so niiice. Calming and relaxing. Could she go back for the rest of that dream, if that's what it was? Better than staying here and studying for NEWTs.

"My point is I don't have a wand but need to get work done and you're the Charms Professor which means you've got a fix for this--maybe I could borrow your wand? Or I could make up for it somehow I guess but I'd rather just borrow your wand."

Professors liked honesty, right? She was full of it.

Oh, not sleepwalking. Sorry. "So... you're trying to tell me that you were... possessed by a giggling book." That's what he was getting from her. Merlin, he didn't know what was going around the halls of this school these days. He didn't really want to know, either.

Fuller sighed. Heavily. SIGH. Of course she lost her wand. The possessive book probably ate it. "You can't borrow my wand." He had trust issues, okay? "Find your wand, then we'll talk. Do you know how to do the spell?" Did she catch any of that after she... woke up?

Thornton looked at the man glumly. "None well," he mumbled, dropping his gaze. "Professor Flamsteed tried to teach me the extension charm cause I was in the hall and everything fell out of my bag cause there was too much in it, but all I managed to do was smash my hand on the ground and he had to do it for me." He took a breath before continuing, swinging his feet.

"And then in Astronomy, every spell I tried got messed up. My planet was flat and my nametag was all jumbled and and..." Thornton's voice broke and he fell silent.

How could he say that he was letting down his family and the only thing they'd asked of him was what he couldn't manage to do.

"I avoided all the cleaning spells in potions and just did it by hand..."

"Well when you say it like that you make me sound crazy or something but yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying." She wasn't out of her mind, OKAY? "I was doing some research and the book floated over to me giggling and stuff. Last thing I remember is a pair of eyes staring up at me from the book then your desk." Which, admittedly, wasn't even that comfortable but this wasn't the time to bring that point up.

Lex deflated some. "I [i]can't wait that long." She whined. Couldn't he see she was desperate here??? "I...my wand...the work requires wand use and I gotta get it done. I have NEWTs Professor!! There's gotta be something else."

As for knowing the spell, she gave a small nod. "I saw it get done a few times, I know how it works."