So, here lie the famed 'Fat' Lady portrait. The British school sure loved calling its historical figures fat, didn't it? Fat Friar, Fat Lady. Before she could get up in arms about the institution of socialized body standards, though, she decided to see for herself this portrait for the historical aspects. The crudely drawn map had sent her up the stairs that Melanie soon learned changed courses while one was climbing up them. Hogwarts, you puzzle us more and more each day. Slightly out of breath and confused, a little, on where exactly the Fat Lady might be, she almost entirely walked by the painting at first.

No...that had to be her, she thought to herself as she backtracked. She wasn't even fat. Healthy looking woman, beautiful. Melanie felt a smirk play across her features. She seemed busy at the moment, brushing her hair. Melanie's eyes moved upward and around the edges of the painting. This was the entrance to the Gryffindor common room? Moxley had told her much about the castle. "Fascinating," she muttered to herself. She would need a password to get in, though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go in. Let students have their space.

"If you are up for talking...I'd love to employ conversation with you, ma'am," Melanie said politely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanie Williams

So, here lie the famed 'Fat' Lady portrait. The British school sure loved calling its historical figures fat, didn't it? Fat Friar, Fat Lady. Before she could get up in arms about the institution of socialized body standards, though, she decided to see for herself this portrait for the historical aspects. The crudely drawn map had sent her up the stairs that Melanie soon learned changed courses while one was climbing up them. Hogwarts, you puzzle us more and more each day. Slightly out of breath and confused, a little, on where exactly the Fat Lady might be, she almost entirely walked by the painting at first.

No...that had to be her, she thought to herself as she backtracked. She wasn't even fat. Healthy looking woman, beautiful. Melanie felt a smirk play across her features. She seemed busy at the moment, brushing her hair. Melanie's eyes moved upward and around the edges of the painting. This was the entrance to the Gryffindor common room? Moxley had told her much about the castle. "Fascinating," she muttered to herself. She would need a password to get in, though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go in. Let students have their space.

"If you are up for talking...I'd love to employ conversation with you, ma'am," Melanie said politely.

Levi climbed out of the common room, unaware that perhaps he may have interrupted what was the beginnings of a potentially interested conversation. A pile of books pertaining different subjects happily floated behind him, and had the boy's eyes not been trained on his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. he'd have noticed that the corridor was less than empty. Surely he couldn't be faulted for giving hellebore and its uses his most undivided attention.

He stopped, for a moment, to flick the page and murmur a distracted, "Hello, my lady," to the portrait guarding the entrance. The books behind him, seemingly not getting the hint that it was time to stop, bumped against the back of his neck, and Levi snapped his head around. "Don't be ridiculous." He was definitely frowning but the books at least stayed right where they were. Which was pushing against his neck, so one sigh later, Levi took a step forward to regain some of his personal bubble.

The sixth year looked up just in time to find that he wasn't alone. An unfortunate realization, to be sure; he'd ditched his black school robes somewhere in the common common room, his sleeves were rolled up almost to his elbows and his red and gold tie was loosened. But his shirt was buttoned up and it was still perfectly tucked in, so Levi chose to focus on the positives."Ma'am?" He arranged his expression into a polite, albeit puzzled mask. Which was completely accurate because he couldn't see what the woman was doing right outside his common room."Are you expecting someone?"

The Fat Lady seemed busy. Melanie would accept it, though she would get in her interview at some point. She needed to grab a ghost, too. Somewhere...she needed to find a ghost. They seemed to be everywhere in the school whenever she wasn’t looking for one, but the moment she went in search of one, she was sure they’d all suddenly disappear. That was how things tended to work. Melanie had been about to reassess how to address the Fat Lady without being rude when the exiting student caught her attention. Then, his politeness. Polite, yet...slovenly. She made note of his uniform violations, and had he been one of her own, she would have corrected him, but since he was not, she merely waved her wand and fixed the violations. Which were few, to be honest. Just the loose tie. And his sleeves remained rolled up, but in a straight, neat way rather than sloppy.

“You’re missing a button,” she flicked the second to the top button of his shirt. “I can fix if you would like,” she smirked. “And no, I’m not waiting for anyone. I’m here to see her,” she let her eyes trail back to the Fat Lady. “To talk to her. She allows passage into the common room with a password, correct?” Fascinating task the portrait was in charge of. “How do your professors know...if any other student from a different house has the correct password, will she still let them in? I’d as her but...she seems busy,” she gestured at the occupied woman. ”I’ve read all about this place,” she put a hand on some of the stone wall, and she tapped her fingernails on it. “It’s such an old place.”

This was strange though it shouldn't have been. A professor who wasn't his professor was talking to him and though this ought to have been perfectly fine (Ilvermornians had been around for weeks now) it was strange. That Peofessor Williams had chosen to fix his tie and straighten his sleeves didn't help.

"Sure, yes. Thank you," He said, folding the corner of the page he'd been reading and closing his Potions book. "If it's not too much to ask anyway." Not that he was really asking, not that he felt like he really had s choice.

But the woman seemed genuinely interested in what Hogwarts was to offer, causing a small smile to begin pulling at the corners of his mouth. Levi added the Potions book to the stack hovering behind him and wondered if her classes were any good. They probably were; there was maybe a certain keenness that had to come with History of Magic, right? She seemed to have it. "Yes. I'd ask you if you want to come in and have a look but I'm not sure I can or should do that." Or if he'd want her there for that matter. "The good lady here," he pointed behind him, presumably at the portrait but his thumb ended up pointing at the books instead, "is kind enough to alert everyone if a non Gryffindor is trying to get in. Words travel fast with portraits and honestly, her dulcet tones are loud enough to attract the whole castle. Or worse--Peeves."

The Lady was paying an absorbent amount of attention to her beautiful locks of hair. These people never understood just how hard it was to be a portrait. Everything had to be perfect at all times! She was painted perfectly for goodness sake. It took time to look this ravishing!

She would need to practice her singing sometime soon as well. But these people were really starting to get on her nerves, standing there like that jabbering in front of her portrait. With a huff she turned to them, "EXCUSE ME! Either give me the password, Mr. Kenning, or I will lock you out for the evening." Then she finally noticed the woman he was with, and wondered who the lovely woman was.

"Oh, dear me! who are you, exactly? Did you come to hear me sing?" She said with a grin and a giggle. "Well, let me give you a little tune, shall I?" The Lady cleared her throat, and hummed a little, warming up her vocal chords.

She took a deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breath, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhahahhHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It may sound terrible and off key to the two people in front of her, but she was tone deaf and had no clue that she was off key. She was proud of her voice and thought it was GLORIUS! "There. Now you can say you have heard the infamous Fat Lady sing! Isn't my voice wonderful?" She grinned hoping her on lookers were just as happy as she was.

Melanie, with her tongue between her teeth, replicated one of his other buttons using her wand, then carefully sewed it in place with magic. Thank you, momma, she thought to herself. Her mom had many times stated that people should know how to sew. Not just women, no, her momma had taught both her Duncan the basics. What if you’re in a big meeting, Melanie, and you lose a button on ya’ blouse? Whatcha’ gonna’ do then?. Fair point, Mrs. Williams. Melanie smiled as she gave it a pat and a nod. “There. Not so slovenly now, are you? You’re one of their champions. You should be representative of the school perfectly.” Which, maybe slovenly was the correct representation. Melanie smirked at the thought.

She shook her head. “Don’t let me in. That’s y’all’s space. I have no business in there.” She didn’t even go in the girls’ dorms back at Ilvermorny. Any trouble making could be handled by the house heads, and even then, Melanie could get a message across without ever having to enter a room. It was a talent. “Oh, she sings? I’ve heard,” Melanie chuckled. “But that is a very clever way of ensuring no one sneaks in.” She wondered how well it worked, though. Or if the Lady took bribes. How does one bribe a portrait, anyway?

Speaking of her dulect tones, the woman finally acknowledged their presence. Melanie’s eyes widened. She was a very loud woman! “Mr. Kenning was just leaving the dormitory, madam,” Melanie said pleasantly enough. “I’ve actually come to - “ But it was much too late. Melanie’s ears had to endure the ever unpleasant sound of the singing. It was no joke! Melanie kept her face blank and smiled when addressed once more. “Actually, it sounded wonderful. Don’t you think, Mr. Hogwarts Champion?” she asked, her eyes commanding him to play along. “I’d love if you’d chat with me some more. Your hair is beautiful...and your eyes, oh, you have the most glorious eyes I have ever seen.” Melanie leaned against the stone wall next to the portrait, batting her eyelashes. She was used to flirting with women. It was easy, and this one was easier. She seemed vain. Melanie could handle vain women.

"Would it be too much to ask you to teach me how to do that?" Inquired the boy, curiously, raising his dark brows. He hadn't though he was slovenly exactly, but perhaps American dress code was differently. Or maybe he really was slovenly despite keeping his shirt tucked in. A small grin stretched on his mouth. "Just in case I'm slovenly in the future."

Ya'all was a very curious word. It'd taken Levi the arrival of the Ilvermorny students to notice that despite a somewhat popular belief, there was more than one kind of American accent. There were shades and cadences to them that to his own ear, at times, could be a little difficult to understand. Some of them spoke too fast, some too slow. Others shortened words he hadn't known could be shortened. But then, it wasn't like they did any better across the pond. The United Kingdom and Ireland were too big for everyone to speak the same way.

Was Williams one of the southerners then? Levi was about to ask that. Whether his curiosity would make him sound rude or not would remain a mystery. When he opened his mouth, so did The Fat Lady and Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He settled by looking at the hovering books behind him, with a touch of disdain.

He had a smile ready for when Williams addressed him, again. "It's Levi." Hogwarts Champion was pretentious and frankly, he wondered if this was the woman's way of trying to playfully slight him. "But, of course, I agree, My Lady. We Gryffindors are forever indebted to you for looking after our domains."

Oh, the boy had just come out of the common room? She didn't even notice her painting open. She must have been far to focused on brushing out her gorgeous locks of glorious hair. It was magnificent. She made sure of that! "Oh, pardon my rudeness then, Mr. Kenning. I wasn't paying attention when you opened the portrait." She gave the young man a wink.

After she finished her BEAUTIFUL aria, she giggled at all the compliments, blushing a little. "Well, aren't you both so sweet! I thank you! Anytime you would like for me to sing I shall! And congratulations on being chosen for the IMPS, Mr. Kenning! Do our house proud, wont you?" She said with a grin.

Then all the wonderful compliments the woman was giving her took effect and she couldn't stop herself from giggling. "Oh, why thank you my darling, you are just as gooorrrrrgeous as I am." She said with a wink and a smile. "You said you wanted to have a chat? Whatever would you want to chat with an old portrait like me for?" She said with a hint of a smile. She knew the woman thought she was ravishing, who could blame her. This fat lady was the the pick of the litter!

Or maybe Melanie Williams had higher standards for being unslovenly. “I can teach you. My mom had a variety of handy spells like that.” She was a wonder woman, that was for sure. “Oh, I doubt you’ll let it happen again,” she was half teasing. Expecting perfection from students was foolish; better to be realistic and expect their downfalls. Be there for their downfalls. Help them grow.

For the record, Professor Williams would not have minded discussing her background with anyone; her roots were from Alabama, and she would never deny it. Nor would Duncan. They were proud of where they were from. Good ole’ Bama.

The Fat Lady was an interesting woman. Melanie wondered what she had done while she was alive to warrant such an honorable position. Vain woman so far. Delusional, too, after listening to her sing. Melanie’s mouth curled into a smirk. “You’ve been here for a lot over the years. You have guarded the common room for...centuries now, correct? It’s fascinating to me, my lady.” Melanie bowed slightly.

The Fat Lady was congratulating him, which was good for a change, but there was something to be said about having portraits giving their input and being nice about it. Not that the school portraits weren't known for handing opinions like it was their job, but Levi was surprised to discover that the Lady's support actually added some pressure to the already existing one. It was strange, this; the opinion of a dead person should not have mattered, and yet. The slight ball of something coiled in his stomach as he put on his best smile, the one that showed the dimples, and nodded his head at the Gryffindor guardian. "Thank you, my lady. With your favor on my side, well--losing might not be a possibility anymore, surely?"

He looked at Professor Williams just then, still smiling. Surely she wouldn't dare correct him; to contradict him would perhaps be contradicting the Fat Lady as well, and she could be a flighty thing, and Williams appeared intent on having a chat with her, after all. Surely she'd not dare upset her. "Great." Was she going to do it now? Or would an appointment have to be booked?

Levi listened to their small exchange and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the portrait's fake modesty. Though she did have a very good point; Melanie Williams was unfortunately quite gorgeous. The Gryffindor reckoned it'd be the sort of thing that would become a problem if he spent too much time in her vicinity. Fortunately, this sort of encounter was unlikely to happen again. "The good lady here is a paragon of excellency," He said, a practiced answer, one that he repeated to any curious non Gryffindors whenever the Fat Lady or any of her friends were in the vicinity. "A leader within the Hogwarts portrait community, really." Or not. But he was not going for truths, here.

Derf felt positively HORRIBLE after what had happened in Charms class - and no, he had NOT gone to the hospital wing along with the others because HE DID NOT TRUST HEALER REED STILL, NOPE! - and was particularly distraught over what hand happened to Olivia. He would naturally go an apologize to everyone who his butter had, er, buttered...but she was at the top of the list.

He could STILL hear her shrieks, for the record.

Thus it was that the shaking nervous wreck of a Hufflepuff blonde made his way up towards the Gryffindor common room NOT to see Abey or Stasya or Emmeline for once...but to linger around outside the Fat Lady's portrait HOPING that the older Gryffindor would show up.

Maybe he could sweet talk the Fat Lady into letting him in? His mum HAD been the Gryffindor Head of House so like...you know...he and the portrait were practically family!

SPOILER!!: Derfael!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Derf felt positively HORRIBLE after what had happened in Charms class - and no, he had NOT gone to the hospital wing along with the others because HE DID NOT TRUST HEALER REED STILL, NOPE! - and was particularly distraught over what hand happened to Olivia. He would naturally go an apologize to everyone who his butter had, er, buttered...but she was at the top of the list.

He could STILL hear her shrieks, for the record.

Thus it was that the shaking nervous wreck of a Hufflepuff blonde made his way up towards the Gryffindor common room NOT to see Abey or Stasya or Emmeline for once...but to linger around outside the Fat Lady's portrait HOPING that the older Gryffindor would show up.

Maybe he could sweet talk the Fat Lady into letting him in? His mum HAD been the Gryffindor Head of House so like...you know...he and the portrait were practically family!

After leaving the Infirmary, Olivia hadn't immediately returned to Gryffindor Tower. She'd been so upset about the scene she'd made, as well as the new scar she was sporting. It was small; not immediately noticeable, unless you were right up close, but still... To someone who'd recently acquired so many, the addition of even one more was a hard blow. Anyway, to soothe her upset, she'd been in Ravenclaw with Rooney...where he'd assured her that she was still the most beautiful girl to ever exist. Boyfriends were good for that sort of thing and she'd definitely needed to hear it.

...and honestly, the Gryffindor wasn't mad at Derfael. Accidents happened and her getting angry probably would've only served in making the entire situation worse. Derf might not have been one of her ickles, officially, but he was still only a Second Year. He was still learning.

Upon returning from the Head Boy's dorm, she didn't spot Derf right away, since she had her head down; with a hand cupping her cheek to hide the barely visible mark. She was only hoping to get in and immediately go to bed. All the hysterics had properly worn her out for the day. BUT...

She did see him. Eventually.

Tensing up for a moment...Olivia simply stared at him, unsure of what to say. Should she assure him she wasn't too mad? Offer to give him a hug?....?

SPOILER!!: Oliiiiiiiiiiivia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Govoni

After leaving the Infirmary, Olivia hadn't immediately returned to Gryffindor Tower. She'd been so upset about the scene she'd made, as well as the new scar she was sporting. It was small; not immediately noticeable, unless you were right up close, but still... To someone who'd recently acquired so many, the addition of even one more was a hard blow. Anyway, to soothe her upset, she'd been in Ravenclaw with Rooney...where he'd assured her that she was still the most beautiful girl to ever exist. Boyfriends were good for that sort of thing and she'd definitely needed to hear it.

...and honestly, the Gryffindor wasn't mad at Derfael. Accidents happened and her getting angry probably would've only served in making the entire situation worse. Derf might not have been one of her ickles, officially, but he was still only a Second Year. He was still learning.

Upon returning from the Head Boy's dorm, she didn't spot Derf right away, since she had her head down; with a hand cupping her cheek to hide the barely visible mark. She was only hoping to get in and immediately go to bed. All the hysterics had properly worn her out for the day. BUT...

She did see him. Eventually.

Tensing up for a moment...Olivia simply stared at him, unsure of what to say. Should she assure him she wasn't too mad? Offer to give him a hug?....?

Hoooooooooly flaming salamanders...there she WAS.

Well, of course there she was. He had been waiting for her and all. But now that she was HERE he was completely caught off guard and his heart was palpitating in his chest a Golden Snidget's wings with his baby blues resembling a mooncalf's in size again. Was he sweating? He probably was. It felt like someone had a spotlight on him...like in those muggle crime dramas his dad sometimes watched on the tele.

Opening his mouth to speak, he suddenly stopped himself and just stood there with his mouth hanging opening like a trout gasping for air on dry land. WHAT IF HIS VOICE CRACKED AND HE SOUNDED EVEN MORE UNCOOL THAN HE ALREADY FELT?! Was it possible to feel uncool in the minus? He was pretty sure this whole situation was about to prove that possible. He could report his emotional instability to Jessa later.

About ten billion different sincere phrases ran through his head as he dramatically and rapidly thrust a box out towards her with a lopsided bow - he wasn't so good at tying bows, okay? - towards her. "FoOr you," he squeaked, voice totally cracking. "I'ms-sorrybutI'mgladyou'reokay." She WAS okay, right? He wasn't just assuming??

Inside the box, were she to open it, there would be a pair of a certain kind of slipper. He had gotten some help from an older student in making them from some discarded items in the Hufflepuff common room. NOT that they would look like rubbish or anything. They looked just like how he remembered them from the book. Just he wasn't sure if Olivia would want them to be silver or red...so she had one of each AND they were shiny and sparkly enough that any niffler would be attracted to them.

"PleAas-s-seforgiveMeE?"