Wanderous Wand Finished

Oh boy... Oooh boy oh boy... Hurried small steps echoed in the otherwise silent corridor as Archer Dunn, Wizard and fool, swiftly trotted through the second floor, his eyes darting here and there in tenuously controlled panic. What do they do to students that breaks the curfew? A slap in the wrist? Transformation to an unflattering critter? EXPULSION?! The thought of being expelled horrified the young Hufflepuff. I'd rather be turned into a frog as long as I still get to stay here... Archer thought incredulously. 

While he traversed the corridor swiftly, the boy ran through different excuses in his head for why he was outside of the Hufflepuff Common Room past curfew: A rogue book imprisoned me in its story, and I had to kill the Big Bad Dragon to return to the real world... Magic books do that right? Archer was sure that he'd heard stories of books sucking innocent readers to itself. 

A book of riddles came to live and would not let me go until I answered its puzzles... A giant book ATE ME and I had to fight it off in an epic battle of wizard against papers. The thought caused Archer to stray from his current predicament, Do wizards play Rock, Paper, Scissors? If they do, do they have their own version? Rock, Paper, Scissors, Wand!! Wands beat everything of course. The thought amused the young wizard enough that he had to stifle a chuckle.  Then remembering the time and where he was, the severity  of the situation returned and eroded any vestiges of mirth.

The truth was, he got lost in the library between the books. He wasn't lost in any metaphorical sense. There was no 'I realised the beauty of the knowledge contained in all these books and let myself be sucked in by its wisdom...' nonsense. He actually, physically, got lost in the library. To be fair, he arrived at the library close to curfew wanting to actually visit it for the first time. Who would've thunk that the Hogwarts Libary was sooo big? Not poor Archer. What began as a simple tour of the library turned into a frantic search for the exit and a first-year out past curfew.

Archer turned a corner to find yet another corridor that he only vaguely recognised. His heart almost leaped out of his chest when he noticed another person occupying the corridor. Fortunately, it seemed that the individual have yet noticed the boy, and Archer moved to turn around to find another way. However, he stopped and looked more carefully at the figure faintly illuminated by the yellow corridor lights. Those robes... The figure was wearing the standard black uniform worn by the castle's students. She was a small one, even for a first-year, like Archer himself. The thing that made him stop however, was the lost look on her face. In the dim light, Archer could swear that her eyes were red. 

Immediately, several thoughts started to run through his head. What do I do? Who is this? Why is she out past curfew? Is she actually a student or just pretending to be one? Archer thought of the various ghosts and creatures living in Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff Head of the House had ensured the first-years that most of them were harmless. But who knows what lurks past the ever so dreadful Curfew. A final thought solidified Archer's next action, What if she needs help?

Therefore, with nervousness and not an insignificant feeling of fear, Archer carefully and slowly approached the girl, walking in such a way that he was ready to turn around and bolt at the first sign of trouble.  With a trembling hand, he reached into his pocket and retrieved his wand: 34,9 centimeters, cherry wood and unicorn hair. When he felt that he was close enough, the Hufflepuff steeled himself and asked in a nervous tone, "H- hi there... Are, are you OK?" 

Wizard God and or Gods... If you exist, please let her be an actual student...

Hi! I hope you don't mind me jumping in!

"H- hi there... Are, are you OK?" A male voice had asked her. Sophie glanced up at the noise, and thousands of questions had raced through her mind. The only one that stuck out, was why the boy was here.
He was obviously a fellow student, but, he was in Hufflepuff, or from what Sophie could tell by the Yellow and Black tie. Why was a Hufflepuff in the second-floor corridor after curfew? After all, Most Hufflepuffs had a knack for being 'Goody-Goody.' As Sophie's friend had tried to get her Expelled for pulling a harmless prank. 
Sophie's mind went empty, and quite confused once more. She stared at the boy for another millisecond.
"Well, Long story short, my wand went missing. I'm not going to my common room until I find it. So right now, I'm not okay." Sophie glanced back down at the ground, as if a little spark of light would appear. 
It didn't.
Sophie sighed, anger and annoyance in her voice. What if she never found her wand?
'How would I be able to tell mum? How would Mr. Ollivander take it? My Chestnut and Unicorn hair wand, Missing? Would I be able to get a new one? That was my wand though!' Tears began to fall loosely onto her cheeks, and Sophie tried to get them to stop.
Keyword, Tried.
She obviously failed, as a strong wave of sadness had washed over her. If she didn't find her wand, how would she be able to preform magic. In fact, it was spell-casting that caused her wand to go! 
"I wish I could preform that summoning charm, 'Accio.'" Sophie would mutter. 
The sleeves on her robes were damp with tears. Perhaps she should lay off of casting magic for a while.

When the girl glanced at Archer, he felt himself involuntarily step back. The few seconds that passed before she replied to him felt to the young Hufflepuff as an eternity filled with dread. Fortunately for him, what came out of the girl's mouth was not some unnatural, monstrous, hexes or jinxes. Still, Archer had to be sure. He gingerly moved forward until he was about arm length and just... Poke. His finger met flesh. I touched her, that means she's not a ghost right? Wouldn't my finger have gone through if she was a ghost?  Archer stepped back, sufficiently satisfied that he was speaking to a real, bonafide, human student. Then realising how strange his action was, Archer chuckled and said apologetically, "Sorry about that... Just wanted to make sure you were-"  he stopped himself suddenly with a cough. What were you going to say you fool!? I don't think telling her that you suspected her humanity would be help in this situation! 

"Anyways... Heh heh..." He chuckled nervously, "You lost your wand eh? That's no good... Why didn't you go to a professor? It doesn't matter now, we'll both get in trouble for being outside past curfew..." In fact, Archer was weighing the risks of him stopping to talk to this girl. The Hufflepuff Common Room was just one floor away, and he was sure that he could convince the Fat Friar to keep quiet about it even if he was to see him on the way. However... Archer glanced again at the girl's eyes. Now that he was closer, it's clear that the poor girl has been crying. There's no way I can leave her like this. So, with a wide smile on his face, Archer reached out his hand and said in a cheery voice "My name is Archer Dunn. I'm a first year at Hufflepuff. We'll find your wand, don't worry!" Archer said in what he hoped was an encouraging voice. "Unfortunately, I don't know Accio..." The young wizard had seen professors use the spell in their classes to summon a book, pen, or other trivial things. But it wasn't a spell that was commonly taught to first-years. In fact, he doesn't immediately see any use of the spells he does know in this exact situation. "I do however, have some other ideas that could help..." He continued with a confident grin on his face. "Now... Can you tell me what your wand looks like?  Where did you last have it?" Archer started to walk in one direction, making sure to wait for the girl, "What we need to find is a portrait, preferably one that won't rat us out to the professors..."

Sophie followed gingerly. "My wand is Chestnut wood and Unicorn tail. Also, My name is Sophie Murphy, of Gryffindor." She would mumble. A portrait that wouldn't rat out first year students? That was quite easy to find. 
"Well, I know a few, but they'll all be asleep. We might need to find a ghost, more or less. Sir Nicolas might help us, or the Grey Lady, but I don't know if they come by over here, and if they had been here before." Sophie would say, slightly louder. She followed the Hufflepuff boy. 
Sophie was scared. Not just for her own safety of being in the school, but for the Hufflepuff boy. Sophie was just missing her wand, and the boy had stopped to help her. If they got caught, Sophie wouldn't let the poor guy get in trouble, she was guilty for things like that.
But what if their punishment was really bad, and got worst when it was just Sophie dealing with it? Then she would deal with it. If she got expelled, then she did. She would just have to go to another school, and leave behind everyone she loved, and cared about. She would also have to leave behind her grades, and happiness. But there was no way she was getting caught. She was a mastermind at being sneaky, and sly. Perhaps she was indeed meant for Slytherin. 
Then Sophie realized, she wasn't. She was too bold, brave, and daring to be in Slytherin. She would rather save someone else, rather than herself, as Most Slytherin's wouldn't do.
"We could always just ask a professor, I suppose. If they don't get mad." Sophie would mumble.

Sophie Murphy... Archer happily repeated the name in his head. The Hufflepuff boy has always felt a sense of happiness in meeting new people and creating new connections. He led the other student almost aimlessly through the second floor, his head turning right and left looking for a suitable portrait. One of the first things he had learned about Hogwarts was that many of the portraits were inhabited by the ghosts of the deceased portrayed inside the frames. They interact with the living and can even jump from one photo to another! The wonders of the magic world never cease!

Sophie was right about them however, as the few portraits they had gone past were all in various states of sleep. Some was even snoring! Why are they asleep already? It's not that long past curfew is it? Why do ghosts even need to sleep? They're dead! Irritated and painfully aware that at any second, someone can spot them wandering the halls when they're supposed to, Archer marched at a portrait he just spotted. It was a picture of a screaming man, his hands on his head in front of a backdrop of hills and a river. The man was sleeping, like the others, yet his pose remained the same creating quite a comical and other-worldly look.  Archer poked and greeted the portrait, "Hi there! I'm terribly sorry for bothering you but we need some help!" A few seconds stretched before the stylised eyes of the portrait opened lazily. It took one look at the wizard and went to sleep once again. "He- hey! That's rude!" Archer knocked at the portrait even louder now, "Listen to us you... two-dimensional git!" His voice uncharacteristically heated and his words harsh.  The portrait opened his eyes again, clicked his tongue in irritation, and walked out of his picture, grumbling under his breath about 'annoying whelps.' 

Archer's shoulder slumped and a sigh escaped his lips. Turning towards his companion he said, "I suppose we should find a ghost... But will they be able to help us? Most of them haunt a specific area... Except Peeves... but we don't want him." His expression turned sour as he remembered the poltergeist tripping him on his first day in the castle, laughing and saying things like how Hufflepuff's are full of dimwits who can't even put one feet in front of the other.

"Where did you lose your wand anyways? We might be able to get a better idea of who to ask. I think we should avoid talking to the professor unless there's no other option. Who knows what they will do to us?" Archer shivered involuntarily.

"I-I didn't lose it anywhere specific. Look. If you want to hear the whole story, you're gonna have to sit." Sophie said, shrugging absentmindedly. When the two had stopped so Sophie could explain, she began from the very beginning. 
"Well, about an hour ago, maybe? I was in the owlery about to send an owl to my... nevermind, But my owl Kiyoko seemed off, so I glanced around to what she was looking at. My wand, which I had sat on the table, was flying upwards, so I made to grab it. I was um.." She wanted to ignore the fact that she was so small she could barely reach the wand. "Well, I had to stand on the table right? But my wand just glided off! So, I began to follow it. Of course, when I did so, it began to glide faster. I ran after it, and it went to this corridor. So, I glanced around, but it had gone! So, I had searched the whole floor after deeming that the wand wasn't there. But, then I saw my wand gliding swiftly towards another hallway, which I had never seen before." Sophie pointed at a wall up ahead. "That's where the hall was. But when I had ran to grab it, the hallway just... Disappeared! It couldn't've been a trick because.. well, my wand had gone in it!" Sophie said. It truly was unreal. And.. How was she supposed to cast magic?

Reluctantly, Archer stopped and stood at the side of the corridor, his senses wary and alert for any sign of anyone approaching as Sophie recalled how she lost her wand. She had made it seem like the story of how she lost her wand would be a long one, but it was barely two minutes! 

A curious look adorned the Hufflepuff's face as he considered the story. Seems obvious right? An object that mysteriously started moving by itself? She definitely should've gone to a professor... Then again, the girl seemed overly distraught at losing her wand, more than what Archer would've expected. Perhaps she'd panicked so much that the thought of reporting it to a professor never crossed her mind. Whatever it was, Archer did not voice the thought to his companion. What's done is done and now what matters is getting the wand back before they were discovered out past curfew.

"It's a ghost right? I'm a muggle-born but I've watched enough movies to be confident that a ghost took your wand..." Briefly, the young wizard wondered if Sophie was also muggle-born and if not, if she knows what a movie is at all. "I could see Peeves doing something as vexing as this..." Archer said, his distaste clear in his tone and expression, "But he's hardly the only ghost that would do such a thing; he's simply the most insufferable." The young boy resumed walking until he reached the wall that Sophie claimed had once been a hall. Running his hand across it confirmed that it was solid at all the parts that he could reach. 

After a few moments in which Archer looked deep in thought, he suddenly started speaking in a louder volume, "You know what I really love Sophie?" he started, "Being alive: The feel of silk, the taste of honeycakes, the smell of lavender,  the warm embrace of other living beings." The hufflepuff put his arms around himself with a wide smile, "Mhhmm..." 

Then his tone changed, now with a tinge of mockery, "You know what I'd hate? Being dead. Not being alive would just blow... Can you imagine not breathing or tasting good food? I sure am glad that I'm not dead!" 

Finished, Archer waited in anticipation. This had better work... Thought the boy nervously.  Then, from the peripheral of his eye, he saw an ethereal figure materialise from thin air alongside a low, subservient voice, "Heeeyy... Being alive is not all fun and games you know..." Score! Archer thought in triumph as he turned to meet the floating figure. It was an aged man with droopy eyes and long, grey, eyebrows that went down to his shoulders. He was wearing plain white flowing robes that covered everything but his long, gaunt face. His head was a patch of grey and white tufts of hair on an otherwise bald head. The ghost was not completely  opaque and Archer could see the wall behind him through the blue tinted figure."Your body gets tired, your bones ache, you get hungry and sick... Being dead is not so bad... Walls are no barriers to us and we get to hear and see all sort of interesting things..." The ghost continued, clearly not willing to accept the things that the Hufflepuff boy was stating.

Archer did not know this ghost, Clearly not one of the famous Hogwarts ghost... but he was what Archer and Sophie currently needed. He had hoped that a ghost, any ghost, would make itself known to challenge the insensitive statements Archer had so publicly announced. Confident that the wand thief was a ghost, he felt that talking to one would be of great assistance. Even if it wasn't, a ghost that haunted the area would most assuredly know about the disappearing hall.

Turning to face Sophie, Archer said with a flourish and a smile, "Who better to catch a ghost than another ghost? Right?"

Not very many words registered into Sophie's brain. Sure, she was bright and intelligent, but sometimes, her brain becomes broken, and she has to stop and take her medicine.
Medicine.
Maybe it was because of the medications, that Sophie was always bright and cheerful, or maybe it was when she was depressed. Either way, her Anorexia is, well, healing. Not very quick of course. But, the wounds won't heal if she keeps opening them.
"It definitely wasn't Peeves. I think it was something-, err, someone else. Then again I'm paranoid." Sophie left out why she was indeed paranoid. She just happened to forget that her uncles both died tragically when Voldemort killed them. How her auntie, and father managed to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, and live, when so many others had died, was indeed a real question. 
Of course, Sophie's father was a great Auror, maybe that was why. Or perhaps it was because her auntie was so driven by anger, she became stronger, wiser, but weak. When James Fortis Murphy had died, Her Auntie Aurora, lost everything.
Of course when Theodore Ferox died, nothing changed. Her Auntie wasn't close to her uncle Theo, what's-so-ever. In fact, they loathed each other.
Yet she still cried when she had found out two of her three baby brothers had died. Sophie, on the other hand, along with her Mother (Though probably not now) had never known what it was like to lose someone so close to you. As Her mother, Ruby, never had siblings, and her parents died when she was young. Sophie, never had Siblings, or friends as she had moved to different countries for as long as she could remember.
From being in America since she was 6 to when she was 8, and being in Japan from when she was 8 to 8^1/2 . And when she had finally received her letter that she was going to be going to A school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in a place where she felt at home, her parents stopped moving, and landed in a nice Suburban house.
"I guess so, but... what if the ghost didn't see anything? What if its a lost cause, and my wand is gone forever! My owl Kiyoko can probably carry another one, but it'll take forever for Ollivander to make the wand, then have it to me. Oh Merlin! What if I fail classes? I won't be able to preform any magic! What if my new wand is a failure, and it ends up hurting me! What if my other wand is eventually found, what would I do with two wands?"

Hmm... Not Peeves huh? That's good news right? Unfortunately, Sophie did not present any indication to who or what it might have been.  In fact, it seemed like the Gryffindor student was not in any state of mind to be of much help. Great... Just great... Archer thought mirthlessly. "You're the one that suggested we find ghosts didn't you? And I'm sure the school has some spare wands lying about. I doubt you'd be the first student to lose a wand. If you end up with two wands at the end then that'll be great! You can have one for each hand! POW-POW!" The young Hufflepuff slung each of his arms forward in rapid succession as if slinging spells. "You can even use them as chopsticks in certain emergencies!" He said shaping his fingers as if he was holding invisible chopsticks. 

Sighing under his breath, he put his hand on the girl's shoulder and grinned, "Anyways... None of that is going to happen. We are going to find you wand. Just leave it to me!" Said the eleven-year old with baseless confidence, "After all, we have a mighty ally on our side..." Archer turned around, flourished, and extended his arm at the spectral form above them, "Mr..." the boy trailed off questioningly, "Ted... Tedious Ted..." The ghost said an uninspiring voice. "...Really? Archer responded with a mix of disbelief and pity. "What's your name then, if it's so great..." The spectre replied with a hint of irritation. "Archer Dunn!" The boy said proudly, "But that doesn't matter right now." 

Archer indicated to his distressed companion, "This poor lady here has lost her wand." the young Wizard started, "Well... It's more like her wand mysteriously floated away and led her for a merry chase." He added thoughtfully. "Anywaaays... She tracked the wand here where it disappeared into a hallway." At that point, he walked towards the wall that allegedly covered the never-seen-before hallway.  "Now the problem. As soon as the wand floated into the hallway, it disappeared! The hallway that is, and I guess the wand with it. And instead we have..." Archer knocked twice on the wall to demonstrate it solidness, "...this wall."

The whole time Archer was talking, the ghost seemed to be looking dully at nothing. But when he finished, the ghost said as if it was the most obvious thing, "Ah... Of course. The Disappearing Hallway #327"  The boy looked at Tedious Ted skeptically, "You're pulling my leg." he said with  hint of wondering, "No...No... Disappearing hallways are pretty common in the castle. I'm surprised you don't know about it."  Archer considered the spectre's words carefully. He's never heard of any disappearing hallways in Hogwarts, and he's read Hogwarts, a History, front and back. Then again, the book also mentioned that for 1 known secret from the castle, there are 2 that are lost to most. 

"Well, alright then..." The boy spoke warily, still not completely convinced, "Did you see the wand float by into the hallway? How do we make it appear and go into this Disappearing Hallway?" 

"I might have seen something like a wand going inside the hallway. Would you like me to show you how to enter the hallway? It would be my pleasure..." Ted said in a slurring voice. Well, that was easy... Archer thought. "Wow thanks! That would be great. You're not so bad after all Tedious Ted!" The ghost just responded with a smile that did not touch his eyes.

"Now look carefully... You don't want to miss a thing..." The translucent figure was already floating towards the wall, "So what you do is... You stand in front of the wall and you simply... pass through." And Ted did just that. The bluish tint incorporeal body of the ghost slinked into the wall, slowly disappearing until there was no trace left. Of bloody course... Archer's face was an unreadable mask as he realised what the ghost was doing. 

Nary a few seconds have gone by before the ghost reappeared through the wall, "Did you get that? Should I demonstrate again? Stand in front of the wall... and pass through." Once again, Ted disappeared into the wall, and quickly went back through to Archer's side. He did this a few times slowly causing Archer's expression to get more sour with every repetition. Noticing the Hufflepuff's unhappy face, the ghost stopped and asked in mock consternation, "What's wrong? Did you not understand...? You just pass through the wall, simple as that." Then Ted made a show of thinking hard before saying, "Wait... Can it be that you can't simply pass through walls at will? That's right... I suppose you can't, being alive and  all." For the first time, the ghost's face was adorned with a semblance of a smile. It was an unpleasant sight to behold. "Can you tell me how great it was to be alive again? And how much you'd hate being dead?" The ...creature's laugh was smug and deliberate.

"Har har har... Very funny. Grade A comedian right here!" Archer said impatiently,  angry that he had been humiliated and trounced by the poor excuse of a living being. "Now that all of that is out of the way. Can you please help us?"

OOC: I didn't want to RP any further because you are the one that really knows about the hallway and how your wand disappeared so I wanted to give you a chance to set up the next step towards finding it. You can use Tedious Ted as a tool towards finding it or write it so that he was just pretending to know about it.