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**Wilber Winterbottom** · #1 (**permalink**) 12-26-2022, 02:00 PM

If you're wandering around the seventh-floor corridor and you suddenly have the urge to cover your ears, you know you're steadily approaching the Fat Lady's portrait. While it isn't an uncommon fact that the vocal portrait guards the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room, getting past the Fat Lady without the correct password is no easy feat. Her passion for tip-top security is just as great as her love for good food and drink.

Though the Fat Lady is very particular about who she allows to pass through the portrait hole, she really doesn't mind anyone hanging around in the corridor. At every opportune moment, she will insist that you stop to listen to her "amazing" singing voice or engage in very loud conversation about the latest gossip. Even the Gryffindors themselves have to put up with the antics of this loud and flamboyant woman -- sometimes she won't even let them inside their common room until she is satisfied with their response to her singing or finds the gossip juicy enough to go share with her friend Violet.

OOC: Please do not role-play for the Fat Lady.

feeheeheeny · 01-11-2023, 05:22 PM

Mia was on a mission. She knew the Gryffindor common room was up here somewhere, approximately maybe, and unlike the Ravenclaw common room's bronze knocker that supposedly only spewed unhelpful riddles, the entrance to the Gryffindor common room was a person. Kind of. But that meant the Fat Lady had all kinds of information and stories, and maybe - just maybe - she would remember her dad, Head Boy Zander Adair, and dish the details on what was like as a Hogwarts student.

While she didn't know exactly where it was - she'd glanced at the map once their first full day and memorized a rough outline in her mind of where things were - a few Gryffindors had just exited the common room as she ascended the stairs toward it, but as it swung closed, she frowned. The... Fat Lady wasn't there. It was certainly the common room's entrance, but she was gone. Had she popped out for a bit of tea? Did portraits like these need the loo, too?

"Um, excuse me?" Mia tentatively approached the Fat Lady's portrait and tried to peer deep into it, leaning from side-to-side, trying to see beyond the scope of the frame as if to spy where she had gone off to. Her brows furrowed, and she contemplated lightly knocking on the frame itself, but she wasn't sure the lady would appreciate that. Maybe inside a portrait, knocking would feel like an earthquake, and Mia didn't want to upset her. She was a treasure trove of information.

So, instead, she waited around for her to appear.

StarShine · 01-14-2023, 04:34 PM

Well, now that that was out of the way... the way to enter the kitchens, that is, and feast on what the house elves had to offer...

Joel looked very happy as he made his way to the common room. His big sister, had let him on the secret passageway to the kitchens. Her big Hufflepuff heart had proven to be much more useful than his hooligan big brother's, and Joel was grateful for that. In return, she'd asked to enter the Gryffindor common room one time, so Joel would have to figure out a time that people... wouldn't question. He'd have to investigate, but that was a worry for later. Now, his belly was full, and he was ready to play some games in his dorms!

Except, the Fat Lady wasn't there. More importantly, there was a girl standing in front of it.

"Hello," he greeted her. A Slytherin, huh? Was she trying to enter the common room? Was that even allowed? He could use her as a bait to see if he or she got in trouble for that... hmm...

"I'm Joel. What's your name?"

feeheeheeny · 01-15-2023, 02:31 AM

It wasn't like Mia had anywhere to be, but there was this growing feeling of concern that she was wasting her time by waiting around here when she could be doing something else. There were loads of corridors to explore and memorize, and her time was valuable.

Just as she made up her mind that she would go roam the halls nearby and stop by the portrait on her way back - it had barely been a full minute - there was a boy's voice from behind her. Mia turned, her expression brightening, then faltering a little. Yes, he was wearing Gryffindor robes, so this was his stomping grounds - but she recognized him from the feast as one of her yearmates. He probably hadn't been here long enough to really know what went on with the Fat Lady, so she was a little disappointed that he might be as clueless as she was. Didn't hurt to ask, though, she reckoned.

"I'm Mia," came her response with a sad sort of smile. "I wanted to speak to your portrait, but she's not here." She squinted at him curiously. "Joel," she used his name to make a memory of it, "do you know how often this happens? Or how long it might take for her to get back?" She didn't expect him to, but she was hopeful.

StarShine · 01-16-2023, 02:21 AM

Mia, right. Joel nodded to himself. He recognized her from the Sorting Hat ceremony now, because she was the first one to go and he watched it very closely to see what this was all about. He looked puzzled when she revealed she wanted to speak to the portrait, eyebrows crossed and all. Why would anyone want that? Sure, some of the portraits were funny, and he had interacted with a few, but... Fat Lady wasn't one of them. She just talked and talked about lady stuff, and she wasn't even a good singer, and just... blegh. He shrugged.

"She doesn't go away for hours for sure," he said, "the longest I've had to wait was for 15 minutes maybe. But I mean, I presume she is gone every day. She's got some friends, y'know." He looked at her more closely know to see the reason behind her interest. "Why? Are you trying to sneak into our common room?" He grinned, and sat down on the floor. He wasn't judging her at all. If anything, he thought that was pretty bold. He presumed there was a penalty, he just didn't know what.

feeheeheeny · 01-17-2023, 03:45 AM

She had friends? That was curious. Did the people within these portraits go visit other portrait-dwellers or did they go visit "friends" that were there when the picture was taken? Mia couldn't pretend to actually understand it - she'd never thought to look into this sort of thing when gathering information about Hogwarts - and she ended up just looking at Joel with a blank expression.

"Friends, yeah," she nodded coolly like she totally knew for the sake of this conversation.

When he accused her of trying to break in, though, Mia feigned shock, a hand over her heart, and a smile tried to creep onto her features as she defended, "I don't know what kind of person you think I am, Joel, but I would never break the rules." Amused, she turned back to face the portrait. She stayed standing. "I want to ask her what she remembers about my dad. He was a Gryffindor Head Boy."

StarShine · 01-18-2023, 04:24 PM

The blank expression was completely lost on Joel, whose mind was already preoccupied with trying to calculate how much Mia would know about detentions and rules. She looked like the clever sort, but that didn't necessarily mean she had the information. In the end, he decided it was worth a shot. If she didn't know the exact consequence of entering some other common room, then he could just read the policies of Hogwarts. If one existed.

He chuckled at her, and raised his eyebrows. "That's a long shot though, isn't it?" he said, "I mean, I guess being a head boy is kinda important, but... She," he gestured at the empty portrait, "meets a lot of new people every year. And at least one head boy every year." Unless one died throughout the year. Seriously, would they replace the person, then? He ought to read the policies. He shrugged. "You do you, girl. Just saying. Speaking of breaking the rules though," his blue eyes tried to meet hers, but it was kind of hard from this angle, "what happens if... someone lets another student from a different house into their own common room?" He didn't care if she guessed his intentions or not. He just didn't think she would particularly care to snitch on him, since it wasn't her business.

feeheeheeny · 01-18-2023, 10:59 PM

Mia furrowed her brows. She hadn't really considered the possibility that maybe her dad wasn't memorable. He had to be, didn't he? "But the Head Boy isn't a Gryffindor every year. It's special and an honor, and I reckon he's the type to have made friends with her." Her dad was silly and weird and unpredictable and sometimes a little aloof and forgetful, so he had probably spent many days of his Hogwarts career stuck outside the portrait, unable to recall the password, and chatting her up until someone else came along. Almost definitely, yeah?

The corners of her lips quirked upward in a half-smirk, half-smile at him telling her, you do you. He was a bit funny, wasn't he? Not boring. Not too friendly. He was laid-back and easy-going. She appreciated that about him.

At his question, Mia shrugged simply, crossing her arms in front of her. "Depends," she began, "on if you get caught or not." He hadn't specified, see, and that was an important distinction. "On a bad day? Probably loss of house points, and likely detention, probably for anyone involved." It wasn't like anyone would be expelled, but if those who got caught didn't get reprimanded enough to discourage others from trying the same thing, she figured everyone would be trying it.

StarShine · 01-19-2023, 08:12 PM

Joel didn't want to seem rude or to hurt her feelings, really. He just... didn't think that it was very possible for the Fat Lady to remember a Head Boy from some 30 years ago. But it wasn't his idea in the first place, and she looked enthusiastic about it, so he just said "Sure." He hoped that she would get at least something from asking about him. "Let me know, yeah?" He was curious about just how memorable her dad was, and/or how good Fat Lady's memory was.

Hmm... he considered that for a moment. "What does a detention even involve"? he asked in the end, because... he kept hearing the word, but he had no idea what it meant. Maybe this was a question more suited for his big sister, but she probably knew this already and if her Hufflepuff brain figured it was a risk worth taking, it couldn't be that bad, right?

feeheeheeny · 01-20-2023, 03:28 AM

"Sure," she echoed. If he hung around long enough, he might even get to hear for himself. But she wouldn't blame him if he took the opportunity to go inside as soon as the woman returned to the portrait. He probably had things to do, and talking to Mia right now was just convenient.

Detention? She shrugged again. "Could be anything, I'd reckon. There's lots of cruel and unusual things they could get away with at a school like this, I bet." There were obviously laws and stuff protecting them to some extent from actual torture, but she was just assuming it would be more unpleasant than boring or a waste of time.

Squinting slightly in thought, she finally decided to sit beside him and asked seriously, "What is your common room like? And your dorm? Are there lots of windows?" They were seriously lacking those in Slytherin's, and she wasn't sure she would get over it.

StarShine · 01-20-2023, 03:41 AM

Really? Joel lifted his eyebrows in disbelief. He very seriously doubted they would intentionally hurt any student, but then again... it was a magical school, and the perception of "hurt" was different in this world. He would have to ask this to his mom, who always told him the truth after pulling his leg a little bit. He didn't make a comment, because he just didn't have enough information. He just said a "Hmm," as if to show that he was considering that aspect.

And finally, she decided to join him on the ground. Joel grinned, glad to see that she wasn't "too posh to sit on the floor". He didn't want to associate with that type, really.

"Mmhmm," he said as he nodded, "lots of windows. And the view is pretty decent too, you can see a good chunk of the grounds. It's especially nice when it's raining outside." He paused as if trying to remember something. In fact, he was trying to see if he knew anything about the Slytherin common room, and he did not.

"What about yours?" he asked as he reached into his bag to grab a cupcake, and gestured at her as if to ask if she'd like to have it. The Fat Lady had been gone for a while now, and he figured they could both eat something.

**Portraits** · 01-29-2023, 09:36 PM

FIGARO, FIIIIGARO, FIIIIIGAROOOOO….

A sound like a ~~dying kneazle~~ choir of angels echoed through the hall as The Fat Lady appeared. Having just returned from a visit with her friend VI, the lady was in a splendid mood. So much so that she just had to sing it out!

“Figaro, figaro - Oh, hello!” She smiled, noticing the two students. A possible audience, perhaps?

“Shall I entertain you with an aria?”

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