Ed Wilson
Oh riiight. This was that one kid who got arrested back when they were all a bunch of scrawny 11-year olds. Where did he come from? Ed hadn't seen hide nor hair of him for years. Did he like just come back from god-knows-where, or was he one of those people who disappeared in a crowd so quickly you never even saw them? Not that it changed Ed's stance though. How could he respect someone who used their blood status, or their affiliations, or something as distasteful as being arrested as a tool to make themselves feel superior? He couldn't, so he would have to put this Crassus kid in his place.
However, he didn't even get the chance to stand, as Glacies' voice rang out, a cold steely tone embodying her words as she commanded the two to stop. Ed stared directly back at her, refusing to let her have the satisfaction of putting him down. Her eyes pierced him hard, but he didn't buckle, matching her own gaze with his hazel eyes. He squirmed a little but did not break his gaze, staying ever-silent.
"But of course, Prefect." Ed quipped at long last. "My apologies," he said, putting on his best smile. "I was out of line. I apologize to you as well...Crassus." he said, taking extra care to emphasize the final word. If you couldn't join them, might as well wall them off.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur, a whirlwind of quick eating and drinking, a diaspora of Hogwarts students fleeing the Hall in droves, desperate to cling onto every last minute of free time they had. Ed had nowhere to go, so he resorted to his favorite pastime; wandering around the castle. He was trying to map it all out, the entire castle. He had started last year, but it was difficult. Hogwarts didn't seem particularly large on the outside, but it was a deep and wide building, and there were dozens of hidden closets, alleys, and staircases that one needed to become lost to find. A year and a half of wandering in any free time he could muster had given him about half of Hogwarts fully mapped, but if he was to plan out the whole Castle by the time he left school, he would need to work fast.
Leaving his dishes where they were, Ed stepped back from the table, roughly pushing his chair back in. He could start from the third floor. It was the least mapped out on his homemade creation, only a few classrooms, halls, and trick staircases outlined on the floor. Luckily, he knew exactly where he wanted to look.
Leaving the Great Hall, he took what he called the "Western Great Hall Steps", a broad stone staircase stretching off from the left wall of the Great Hall. It gently curved upwards, eventually ending in a tiny, cramped stone landing, with one barred window and a dim oil painting. With a simple "Alohomora", the door was unlocked, clicking as it swung open. Quietly shutting it behind him and sealing it with a Locking Charm, he headed down the halls at a rapid pace, insistent on wasting as little time as possible. He turned a corner, heading down a long hallway tucked against the outer wall of the building, past many wooden doors and tapestries. Eventually, he took another left, heading halfway through a short alley before stopping at a familiar tapestry. It was floor to ceiling, depicting a magnificent fight between wizarding adventurers and some trolls. It stretched taut at the top, but was slack on the bottom, slightly rolled up. Blast, he'd have to be more careful. Kneeling down, he grabbed the bottom slack of the tapestry and pulled up with all of his might, quickly ducking underneath the exposed opening.
It lead to a windowless hallway, one leading to dead ends in one direction, and a flight of stairs leading to the third floor in the other. Cloak whipping behind him, he quickly made his way up the stairs, skipping the second-last step as it was an illusion leading to empty space. He was expecting to reach the top, but instead finding...a landing? And stairs leading off of it at a 90-degree angle? A new discovery! Must be based on dates! With a new vigor, he took the stairs two at a time, hoping to reach a door, a or a secret entrance at the top. But soon, he reached the top step, and there was...nothing at the top, the steps just disappeared into the wall! He stepped back to give himself space, but the step suddenly pushed down underneath his weight, as if some special weight-activated plate.
Turns out, it was.
Suddenly, he felt the steps give way beneath him, the angular boxiness being replaced with the smooth, polished surface of a stone slide. Frantically, he grabbed the sides of the chute, trying to prevent himself from falling. But then, a sudden "BOO!" ripped through the air as something materialized before his eyes, sending Ed into a throe of surprises and curses as he reflexively loosened his grip on the chute, sliding down quickly towards the landing with startling velocity.
What invisible being could materialize at will and played tricks on people?
"PEEVES, I'LL SHANK YOUR ASS!" Ed screamed as he flew down the chute, tumbling into the landing with a hard crash. However, he landed on the edge of the landing facing the steps, dangerously teetering from the sheer force of his little flight. Flailing wildly in panic, he reached out with his feet, attempting to get a footing on the steps. However, it didn't work, as in his panic, he attempted to push off the fateful second-last step, only to feel empty space as he slowly tipped off the side, his body on a crash course to fall through the gap. Shrieking, he desperately managed to grab the next step over with his arms, preventing him from crashing down into...wherever that step lead.
"PEEVES! FOR THE LAST TIME, I DIDN'T TAKE YOUR WALKING STICK!" Ed cried, trying to pull himself up as the little mustached man reppared in front of Ed, a cackly grin on his face.
"Naughty Eddie, wandering around the castle?" Peeves asked, a grin of glee on his face. "Maybe I should call Filchy, have him rat you out for taking the secret passages. And when you should be at your little study group? For shame, Eddie, where's your responsibility?"
"What meet...CRAP!" Ed jolted, suddenly remembering what meeting he had been forgetting. "Dammit, you bloody boar-beating bracken poltergeist, get me out!"
"Why should I? So you can continue being a bad boy, sneaking around at night? In fact, why don't I call Filch now? OH FIILLCC--"
"Peeves, do you get lonely?"
Peeves fell silent at this question, face falling for a few seconds before recomposing himself, his smile back and sickeningly sweet. "Tell you what Eddie, I'll cut you slack today. Although you better watch out, I could always trip you up at any time. I did swear to the Weasley twins to cause as much mayhem as possible after all, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you some hell." Peeves disappeared at these words, and with a pop, Ed suddenly jolted out of the space, curling up one step below as he watched the illusion fade back to normal.
What do you know?
A few minutes later, Ed stumbled into the classroom, expecting to be late and have everyone staring at him. Luckily, he had shown up fairly early, as only a handful of people had shown up so far. Somehow, Peeves had let him free fast enough for him to get here in time. The wonders of life! Although, he probably wasn't going to get the warmest of welcomes, considering his little stunt earlier. Best to just keep his head down and lay low. Which is exactly what he did in an obvious manner, slouching over to plunk down in a chair. He had no questions to ask, his answers would hopefully be given in time. If not, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
