A hairy situation [Turnajaisaktiviteetti]

[Tristan Grimes]

[[Juu, eli turnajaisia varten pelaillaan englanniksi tässä, ping Anthony tänne kiitooos. Pyydän jo etukäteen anteeksi hölmöstä kielikikkailusta ja tulevasta erittäin kehnosta skottidialektista...]]


Despite the lectures, detentions, and all manner of reprimands, the number of which were quite disproportionate to the time he had been in the school, it seemed like Tristan Grimes had failed to learn to avoid getting in trouble. Quite the contrary: it seemed as if he was actively throwing himself into it. His current activities were a cler testimony of that. Today's exercise might not have been the most original of ideas, but it was certainly a classic. Who could resist a bit of magical paint on the immaculate skin of the previous headmistress Fenêtre's portrait's upper lip? Despite the portrait version of the headmistress herself claiming the paintbrush tickled, she was now in process of being adorned with a brand new moustache.

Next you'll be asking how a first year student could get his hands on the paint - well, suffice it to say he was not the first one to exercise his artistic abilities, which one must say, were somewhat lacking, on school property without a permission. The previous owners of the tiny tin of paint had unfortunately enough had to part with it as they had been caught by the school caretaker, and as little Tristan had been lectured by the very same caretaker later on that day, he had left the caretaker's office secretly in possession of a great new tool for mischief.

As for why it was the old headmistress's portrait that had been chosen as the recipient for a hairy makeover - well, the poor portrait had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and very importantly, did not originally possess much facial hair. It was ridiculous how many portraits in the school already had bushy beards and fancy moustaches! And the portraits of knights in armour, or any person in armour for that matter, were hardly any fun either. So now, after a few moments of focused work, the headmistress was the proud owner of a beautiful Fu Manchu moustache, and Tristan stopped to consider whether a beard would be appropriate as well. Maybe a very long, wispy one? Or an impossibly bushy beard, and perhaps a pair of mutton chops to compliment it? Surely there could never be too much facial hair on a painting... The Gryffindor stared at the portrait with a pondrous look on his face, or at least as pondrous as he could manage, the brush on his hand slowly dripping paint on the floor as he contemplated his next step.

[Anthony Underwood]

Anthony walked rapidly down the fifth floor corridor towards the secret room that was now used as the headquarters of Luihulehti. End of the academic year meant of course a lot of work here and there but also in the magazine as it traditionally gave out honorary awards at the end of the spring term. Anthony himself wasn't actually planning to take part in the award business but he had been sometimes helping with proofreading and other miscellaneous tasks. Today, however, he had been planning to use the HQ to study for the upcoming final exams because the library had been kind of full of people who weren't even actually studying but more like pretending to study while gossiping with their friends. Which of course annoyed him to a great extent.

When he got closer to the portrait that was guarding the entrance to the headquarters he saw something that he had not been expecting: someone else was on the corridor. Usually the fifth floor corridor was empty – which apparently was why it was originally chosen as the perfect place for the Luihulehti headquarters. However, now there certainly was someone. That someone was rather short and standing in front of a painting, looking at it quite intently. Anthony took a few more steps towards the figure and realized that the young, black-haired boy was now not only looking at the painting but working on it. With a brush and paint.

While Anthony quickened his pace to catch the boy before he’d have the chance to flee the crime scene, the boy seemed to have finished his artistic mission and was now staring at the painting as if weighing in his mind whether it was A or A+. The brush in his hand was dripping paint on the floor, which only served to make Anthony more angry with the rule breaker. Though actually this wasn’t even rule breaking but pure vandalism.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" he shouted when he got close enough to recognize the Gryffindor school uniform. He should have guessed it would be a Gryffindor. There were a lot of things only Gryffindors would do and this was certainly one of them.

[Tristan Grimes]

It was merely ill luck that Fenêtre's portrait happened to be hung on the corridor leading to the offices of the two school papers. It was pure stupidity, however, that Tristan, in his pondrous state, failed to hear the approaching footsteps, and was blissfully unaware that he would soon be caught red handed by the Slytherin prefect until he heard a voice call out to him. Tris started, and his eyes shot up to Anthony, recognizing the Slytherin immediately.

"Ach crap," he breathed out before his seasoned troublemaker instincts took over, and he picked up the tin of paint, ready to dash. His options were limited: if he ran towards Anthony, managed to evade him, and got out of the corridor, he would most likely be safe. There were countless places to hide in the castle, and Tristan was confident he could fool an old fart like Underwood any day, given a bit of a headstart. But then again, even if the older student was surprised enough by the sudden lunge towards him that his reactions were slower than usual, the chances of getting caught were too high. Option 2 it was then: running headlong towards the opposite direction, even if Tristan was not particularly familiar with this corridor, and had no idea where it led. Hopefully somewhere, or he would be in trouble.

And so Tristan was running from Anthony as fast as he could, gripping the paint tin in his hand, the brush in the other, hoping most of the paint would stay in the tin for future use. As he ran he pulled the hood of his school robe up, some paint from the brush splashing on it, the faint hope in his mind that maybe Underwood had not recognized him yet. If he managed to run from him - which he obviously would, he was sure of it - he would get away with what he had done scot-free, if you pardon the pun. On the other hand it was a bit of a shame if no one were to know the moustache was his handiwork. He was rather proud of it, after all. Even so, it wasn't worth the possible detention.
"Mynd yer ain business!" he still dared to yell at the prefect as he ran. Hopefully Underwood couldn't recognize him by voice...

[Anthony Underwood]

When the little Gryffindor heard him and lifted his head to look at him, Anthony recognized the boy immediately. He was, after all, the very same first year he had saved from a grindylow during a Defence Against the Dark Arts class in the autumn semester. Grimes or something like that. The name was actually quite fitting to its owner right now. Or maybe he should have been called Crimes. Anyhow, Anthony wasn't very surprised that the boy hadn't grown more sensible during the school year. Gryffindors seldom did.

As Anthony got closer he also recognized the painting. Or actually a portrait. Of the previous headmistress. He didn't even remember it being there. Maybe it had been moved there since his last visit. Then again, maybe it had been there always. He hadn't really ever paid great attention to the paintings along the corridor. Almost every single corridor wall in the castle was full of paintings, tapestries and other decoration so eventually you just stop noticing them. Besides, he was almost always in hurry and his mind was occupied by other, more important things so he rarely had time to admire the paintings.

But now he frowned when he looked at the headmistress and her freshly painted moustache. It looked very out of place on the young and fair headmistress. He couldn't decide whether it was extremely distasteful or actually a bit funny but as a prefect his job was to see to it that the deed wouldn't go unpunished. Young Grimes, however, seemed to have other things in mind as he picked up the tin of paint and started running away from him. Anthony dashed after the boy just seconds later He was sure he'd catch the Gryffindor. Not only was he probably faster but he also happened to know that the corridor was a dead-end. Grimes obviously didn't.

So Anthony kept up with the Gryffindor boy but also kept enough distance to avoid getting paint on his own school uniform. He figured he could just seize the boy when they'd come to the end of the corridor.

"This is my business! That's ten points from Gryffindor!" he shouted back at Grimes while grasping at his wand in the pocket of his school robes. The boy would soon enough realize he wouldn't get away from him and at that time Anthony would catch him.

[Tristan Grimes]

"Ten points? Niver, that's awfy much! If anythin', Ah improved it!" Tristan yelled at Underwood as he heard the prefect's threat. Eliah would hate it if the house lost that many points. He himself didn't care all that much - in fact, losing points felt much more "cool" than gaining them. It wouldn't be fun if one of his very few friends was disappointed with him because of the lost points, though. But surely even Eliah would have to admit that the painting looked a lot better with the moustache, right?

He turned a corner, and... Oh, drat. The corridor suddenly ended in an unforgiving, cold wall. Tristan barely had enough time to react after noticing the dead end, and fortunately enough after hitting the breaks as quick as he could he only slightly knocked his head against the stone wall. It did sting a bit, and his nose in particular ached, but it wasn't the first time he had knocked his head while trying to run from the consequences of his actions. At least there was no danger of any knowledge spilling out due to the hit, as there was none to begin with.

Cornered like a rat, Tristan considered his options again. There was a door on either side of the corridor, but they would most likely only lead to broom cupboards or, at best, classrooms, and as such wouldn't help him too much. And besides, Underwood was closer to the doors than he was, and even a Slytherin would probably have the brains to stop him before he could reach either of them. Back to plan A? Back to plan A. If Underwood had been taller it would have been easier to avoid him, but one had to work with what one had, especially in a corridor this narrow.

It was a shame to lose the paint, but it was his best chance. Tristan held the tin's handle in one hand, supporting the bottom of the tin with the other, and heaved the contents towards Anthony as best he could. As soon as the paint was in the air, he darted towards the open corridor, trying to keep as low as possible as he did so. If all went according to plan Anthony would try to avoid getting paint on his uniform, which would slow him enough that Tristan could run past him.

[Anthony Underwood]

Of course, Anthony hadn't been really planning to reduce ten points from Gryffindor - it was an awful lot, after all - but hearing Grimes complain about it he started feeling like he actually should take the points. At least he was now very determined to catch the boy. He'd make Grimes clean the floor and the painting and possibly also suggest to a professor that they'd give him detention or some other suitable punishment.

The little Gryffindor boy turned a corner and Anthony tightened his grip around his wand. Now he would see it was a dead-end. And he'd probably try to escape some other way then. Probably try to run past him or hide in a classroom. Anthony ran around the corner too and saw him. It seemed as if the boy had hit the wall head first and hadn't had the time to hide in a classroom. Anthony stopped as the boy didn't have any other choice than to either surrender or try to get past him. He was pretty sure that Gryffindors never surrendered so the course of Grimes' actions was quite clear.

Anthony had been keeping his distance because he was a tiny bit worried about the only weapon the boy had: the jar of black paint. He had, of course, considered that the boy would use it against him, but then again... that would be very, very stupid and extremely reckless. Maybe he should have known that would be exactly what a Gryffindor in a pinch would do. He realized what the boy was about to do just seconds before the paint was in the air, but he had been ready, after all, so it was plenty enough to cast a simple shield charm.

"Protego!" he spoke the incantation, and when the paint was just about to land on him, it hit the invisible shield in the air and started dripping to the floor of the corridor. If Anthony had been angry before, now he was furious. How did the little bastard dare to do that?! To a prefect! He would have probably gotten away with cleaning the paint and losing maybe five points - there probably wouldn't have even been detention - but now Anthony was determined to make him pay for such disrespect.

He did lose a few seconds when he cast the spell. A few critical seconds during which Grimes had darted past him but this time the boy's lead wasn't too much and Anthony was a fast runner - especially when he had his mind set on something. Like a week of detention cleaning the dusty old trophies in trophy room. Maybe with professor Coates as a company. That man could give speeches that made even him sleepy.

Anthony dashed after the first-year Gryffindor and caught up to him in a few, short strides. Without the stupid jar of paint there was now nothing to keep him from catching the boy. So he reached for the boy's arm to seize him by the wrist.

[Tristan Grimes]

As ingenious as Tristan might have thought his plan was, it inevitably did not work against a 6th grader. Tris felt fingers clasping his wrist, and his running was brought to a sudden halt.
"Lit gang!" he wailed at Anthony, trying in vain to pull his hand free. Unfortunately for him he wasn't the strongest first year in school, and Underwood was, after all, a beater. Tristan's strength was no match for him. His spells would be no match, either, although that wouldn't usually stop the foolhardy Gryffindor. It just so happened that Anthony was gripping the wrist of his wand hand, and using his non-dominant hand against an opponent this much older than him, and besides, known for his skills in practically every school subject, didn't strike even Tristan as the best of ideas. Thus the Gryffindor settled for merely glaring at Underwood from under his hood, still giving his hand some testy tugs in a feeble attempt to free himself.

"Ye'r unfair," he complained bitterly. "Ye shouldn't tak' points fae me whin ye'r breakin' th' rules tae!"
This, of course, was merely an attempt to stall for time. Tristan knew he was in trouble, he could see how angry Underwood was with him, but as he figured his was a lost cause in any case it was time to try anything he could come up with. You never knew, perhaps he could somehow miraculously survive from this ordeal without detention if he managed to buy just a bit more time... Maybe Underwood would get too caught up in talking, forget the wet paint on the floor, slip on it and hit his head? Maybe. One could always dream.

[Anthony Underwood]

Grimes tried to fight his hand free from Anthony's grasp but to no avail. Finally after some time the little Gryffindor calmed down and settled for glaring at him like he was the villain of the story. Grimes looked a little bit funny with the hood still covering half of his face but when the boy opened his mouth again, Anthony remembered what an annoying piece of troll snot the Gryffindor was. Most of them were. This particular individual, however, had started being annoying already on the train on the way to the school. He'd probably have to suggest a body search to be performed on some of the biggest mischief-makers before allowing them on the express train back home. He wouldn't put up with any stink pellets on the way back.

"Oh, please, do tell me which rule you think I am breaking", Anthony snorted when the boy accused him in a thick, Scottish accent. Fhionnlaigh's accent wasn't quite as thick but he easily recognized the similarity. He also was pretty sure that even Grimes himself wouldn't be able to point out which rule he was supposedly breaking. And not only because the boy obviously couldn't name even a single school rule off the top of his head.

[Tristan Grimes]

Underwood didn't appear to know what Tris was talking about, or maybe he was just pretending to make him doubt his claim. Whichever it was, Tristan wasn't going to keep quiet.
"That skirt! Ye'r nae a lassie, sae how come ur ye wearin' it?" Tristan allowed an evil little smirk find its way on his lips which betrayed how pleased he was with himself to have come up with that. Hopefully this topic would distract Underwood, even if just a bit. "Mist be against th' rules, that!"

It was hard not to notice Underwood's uniform choice, what with the prefect being seemingly everywhere. Somehow though no one appeared to talk about it, which Tristan found odd. The topic didn't interest him much enough to prompt him to ask about it from his older cousin, to whom he usually went whenever there was a question on his mind, but one would think people would talk behind Underwood's back more. People usually did, about any perceived anomaly, even if, or perhaps especially if, the target was someone in higher esteem like a prefect.

Despite himself, Underwood's taunting words did make Tristan doubt himself a bit.
"...ye'r nae a lassie, richt?" he added in a lower voice, the grin fading from his lips. Tristan was almost sure Underwood was a boy, but it wasn't like he had ever seen which dormitory Underwood slept in. But then again, if memory served Underwood's first name was Anthony, and Tristan had never met a girl named Anthony. Or perhaps it was Antonie? Cripes...

[Anthony Underwood]

Anthony's heart skipped a beat when Grimes mentioned the skirt. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind and why would it. He had, after all, been wearing the girls' uniform since the latter part of his second year and the teachers seldom said anything about it anymore, except maybe for professor Coates who sometimes vaguely tried to remind him of 'proper' uniform etiquette. Technically he didn't really have any special permission to be wearing the skirt instead of pants besides professor Caine's unwritten "I think it should be fine" but at least none of the teachers had ever pointed out that he was breaking the school rules, let alone taken points from him for it.

However, young Grimes seemed to actually soon doubt his own assumptions, and Anthony was going to use that to his own advantage. And also the fact that the Gryffindor probably hadn't read the uniform rules anyway. Or any part of the rules for that matter. Actually he was pretty sure the boy had never even seen the school's rule book.

"You sure about that? And actually in which part of the rules it says that?" he asked as if he didn't know but of course he knew. He was a prefect, after all. But he also knew that the exact part of the rules that was concerned with the uniform was a bit ambiguous. One could always argue about the definition of a 'boy' or a 'girl'.

"And don't try to derail the conversation. You just painted a moustache on headmistress Fenêtre! And tried to throw paint on me! I think that'll be a lot more than just ten points from Gryffindor" Anthony said, "but let's see what professor West thinks about it, shall we?"