Hogwarts, the Labyrinth PV Scott closed

Scott had, since he'd returned to school this year with a very unpleasant and unfamiliar tendency to brood, made quite the habit out of wandering the castle and its grounds aimlessly between classes, in order to distract himself. No thoughts- not today! was pretty much the idea. It was a routine that had, among many other things, resulted in his finding numerous new rooms and corridors, spotting wild animals by the edge of the forest, and apparently, in Ami hiding from him to avoid getting brought along.

She had done so today, Scott was sure of it. He'd mentioned feeling in the mood for a walk that very morning, before lunch, and she'd as if vanished into thin air.

But he supposed he didn't mind it too much. It's not like he couldn't distract himself. Hogwarts had more than enough portraits to host quite the conversation, actually, if you felt like one... Not that Scott did that anymore. Ever since an unfortunate number of amused fifth-year students had caught him in the middle of a rather peculiar argument with a 14th century duchess, he'd been wary of those meetings. She'd tried to throw grapes at him through the canvas.

No, exploring the many nooks of the place would have to do. Whatever amount of "exploring" there was left to do on the second floor... You never know. The school was full of surprises, wasn't it? Probably the one thing that he loved most about the place.

"Stop messing with me, you stupid castle!"

Ah. His mystical fortress was facing some harsh criticism.

Crash.

And it was retaliating!

Scott could hear all this from what must be quite far away. There was hardly another soul out walking on this floor besides himself, and so both the voice (which he recognised as a young girl's) and the commotion echoed effortlessly past the many twists and turns of the corridor.

Scott sped up his pace in curiosity, and kept walking in the direction from which the sounds had been coming. No one was calling for help, of course, so he wasn't worried (in fact, now that he listened, he was sure to hear the sounds of footsteps slowly making their way again), but this didn't change the fact that something had piqued the explorer's interest.

"Are you under attack?" He asked loudly, before turning one last corner to catch up with the noise. Before him now stood a very small, and very disoriented-looking girl. She was a first-year, there was no doubt in his mind about that... and a member of his own house, as well! Truly there was no better company. "I heard the clang. Who is it, the Huns? The French? ...The Scots? Two out of three I think I can manage alright. The third I might need some help with."

@Scott Alexander

Not long after the suit of armour crashed to the ground, a boy appeared, speaking of attacks and the Huns. Ivy blinked at him, flummoxed. What the...? "I - what? No, it's... just that." She gestured to the mess of metal on the floor behind her. "And no, I did not push it over. The castle did." Ivy was sure of it. How many coincidences could there be?

Ivy looked suspiciously at the boy through narrowed eyes. "Are you an illusion?" Who was to say that the castle wouldn't try and mess with her again? "Because if you are, I swear to God..." She raised a finger and poked him in the arm. Ok, so not an illusion. Very real indeed.

Now she had to deal with the fact that she'd just poked a random boy in the arm. Ivy's cheeks coloured and she groaned inwardly. Seriously? Worst morning ever. "Crap!" She shook her head and stepped back slightly, putting some distance between the two of them. "Sorry, I just thought Hogwarts was trying to rattle me again. I don't usually go up to random people and poke them."

Although, in this case, the boy had gone up to her, not the other way around. Ivy observed the boy carefully. He looked vaguely familiar, but no one she had ever talked to... it was more like a stranger she'd passed in the street multiple times - or in this case, the hallways. Did he know the way to Charms? Probably. But did Ivy want to ask?

Not really.

Ivy seemed to be the only person who hadn't gotten used to the twists and turns of the castle. Everyone else had likely found their way to the classroom. It was embarrassing, and more than just a little irritating. Honestly, it was as though the castle hated her or something.

@Scott Alexander

Where had this boy come from? Wasn't he meant to be in class? Then again, so was she, but Ivy actually had an excuse - not that she would be willing to give it up, so she stayed quiet about what their shared disorientation, although it appeared that he intended to be out and about, and Ivy wanted to be in class.

She shook his extended hand after a moment's hesitation, just to confirm that he was real one last time. Yep, real. No more worrying. "Ivy Bellamy. Pleasure," she responded. Ivy noted that the boy, now known as Scott Alexander, was quite... tall. Or maybe she was just short?

She turned her focus back onto what he was saying now. Some people here had the strangest way of speaking, rambling on and on about the most random things. Ivy preferred to save her words (and her breath), using only as many words as necessary. It vexed her to hear people talking too much, but there was something endearing about Scott's constant chattering. Something charming and peculiar about the way he spoke that balanced out the rambling. How curious.

Ivy nodded. "That's right. First year, brand new to Hogwarts." She looked over her shoulder as Scott's gaze seemed to wander, as if there was someone else that was approaching. Nope, the corridor was still as empty as ever, although the armour was still in a mess on the floor. Ivy grimaced at the sight. "Should we pick it up or something?"

She looked back at him quickly at the suggestion that she was lost. He was right, but it was a reflex of hers to reject help in any form. "What? No! I'm not lost, what are you talking about? This place is really cool! There's paintings... and armour... and torches, and stone walls... it's a great place to be!" Ivy laughed awkwardly, realising that she was the one rambling now.

Ok, but she did need help, or she'd miss the entire lesson and get left behind. Ivy sighed and rolled her eyes, dropping the pretence. "Alright, fine. I'm lost. I don't know where the Charms classroom is."

@Scott Alexander

Asking for help was something Ivy tended to avoid. In her eyes, it was like admitting a weakness, and Ivy liked to be independent and in control. But she had to admit, sometimes asking for help paid off. There was no way in hell that she would have been able to find the classroom on her own, and perhaps this time was one of the few exceptions to her rule. Scott was being incredibly nice about it, too...

Ivy had some difficulty in keeping up with Scott's words, and she blinked at him in surprise as he clapped his hands together, turned on his heel and began to walk in the opposite direction. It took her a slightly longer moment to process his words. Oh, he was going to show her where the classroom was. Ivy ran to catch up. It was nice of him to actually take her there. The Gryffindor had been expecting a few directions, but this was better because, well, she was terrible at remembering things like that.

Apparently, she was also terrible at keeping up with the conversation. There was yet another slight pause before she responded. She was on the right floor? Ivy sighed with relief. Well, that was something, at least. That meant it wouldn't be too hard to find the Charms classroom, right? "I - no, I suppose I can't." She reciprocated his smile with one of her own, although hers was a little uncertain. Ivy wasn't quite sure what to make of this boy yet. He was nice, that was for sure, but he did talk a lot... or maybe Ivy just didn't talk at all? She wasn't really sure, but it was too early to judge.

So Scott had a free period. That explained things. "Who said I was worried?" Ivy asked, half-smiling. "Walking around aimlessly, you say?" Hm. Ivy had discovered that she liked to do the same thing in the past month. While everyone else was bonding and making friends, she had been studying and actually learning. Her parents had sent her here to learn, and her mother had made it very clear that she did not want Ivy attending Hogwarts anyway (she had wanted Beauxbatons). Ivy knew that if she didn't get good marks, she would be taken out of Hogwarts and sent away. She didn't have time to make friends - besides, it wasn't like she was very friendly anyway, so why bother?

When not studying, Ivy had filled her time with walks. Hogwarts was beautiful, and there was so much to look at and discover. "People say aimlessly because they don't understand," she said thoughtfully. "Walking around like this is a perfectly ordinary way to spend your time. Why else would we have legs?"

"People say aimlessly because they don't understand. Walking around like this is a perfectly ordinary way to spend your time. Why else would we have legs?"

"Aye, haven't you got some wisdom in you, for an eleven-year-old! Could tell a friend of mine that, actually. She gets out of walks any way she can, hides from me! Doesn't like them the way I do. Why else would we have legs..."

Scott chuckled, and gestured for Ivy to turn a third corner with him quite drastically in the direction of the charms classroom. There were certainly fewer suits of armour in this corridor, so the young hooligan might be safe, but to compensate the walls were riddled with many more portraits: during their short walk, the two Gryffindors passed several counts, countesses, priests, and an old geographer spinning his globe around in boredom within the confinement of his frame.

Scott didn't envy the lot of them. Because not only had the young girl to his left been right in her sentiment, Scott would also like to add how a day without just a bit of discovery wasn't a day very well spent. Not in his opinion.

"It's not ways away, now! Has your class already begun, do you think? I'd ask what time it starts but I don't have a watch on me, so I don't think that'd do much good... I'm sure Vernatis will understand, though. You can't possibly be the first new student to arrive a little late this year! After all, this castle's got it in for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if we stumbled across one or two of your classmates on our way, stuck underneath a fallen beam or fighting a rogue poltergeist."

He truly hoped the girl realised he was joking, since he was remembering how scaredy he'd been himself at that age.

@Scott Alexander

Ivy eyed every suit of armour they passed suspiciously, half-expecting them to fall on her as well. There weren't as many suits of armour lining the corrider that they were walking along, but she still kept her distance, shuffling a little closer to Scott semi-consciously. She didn't think the castle was above holding grudges - honestly, if some random kid called her stupid, she would have probably pushed a suit of armour on them as well.

Perhaps it wasn't necessarily a bad thing that she had gotten lost, because the more they walked, the more interesting things Ivy could see. Although the corridor itself was rather bland with only grey stone, the paintings were rather fun to look at. It was like taking a mini-history lesson, with all the different people from different time periods. Her eyes widened as a striped tiger tried to pounce at her through a painting, and she jumped back involuntarily.

"I suppose this is just a hobby of the castle? Scaring first years?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth sarcastically. Ivy glared at the tiger, which was now growling as its eyes followed her down the corridor. She quickly swiveled her head back to look in front of her. Uh, never mind. Perhaps it was best to leave some of the paintings - and the castle - alone. "I suppose I'll find this all a lot funnier later."

Ivy turned the corner with Scott and glanced up at him briefly as he began to speak again. "No, it's definitely started," she sighed with a shake of her head. She didn't have a watch either, but judging off the silence in the hallways, classes were well underway. Ivy laughed softly at Scott's joke, although she was a little unnerved by it as well. Who was to say that Hogwarts wouldn't do so? It was a magical castle, after all, with all the time in the world and nothing to do. "In your first year, did you get... uh..." here she would pause, unsure of what word to use, before rephrasing the question itself entirely. "Did the castle ever play tricks on you?"

Although her own encounter with the castle's prank was not funny in the slightest, despite what others may think, it would most certainly help to hear that she wasn't the only one.