anything you can do i can do better (casey)

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It was time for her nightly rounds of the castle, making sure that everything was okay and that all of the students were safely in bed. Generally, the Head Boy and Head Girl would meet up at the end of the night to report back on their areas, but Casey was sometimes hard to find.

Casey Finnigan. Masin had always wondered why he even was chosen to be a prefect in the first place let alone head boy. Still, he was pretty good at his job even if he didn't exactly give off the same air of scary authority that Masin did. He was a good guy, she supposed. Tonight, she had just finished her rounds and had arrived at the place they had designated to meet. Things seemed safe, but Masin knew better than that.

Once one of your best friends gets tortured and almost killed, it kind of sends a wake up call through your bones. Ethans situation was that for Masin. She already took her job seriously, but now she was a force to be reckoned with. Wand in hand, sometimes even a knife swiped from the kitchens at her belt. She was ready for anything, and scared out of her mind.

Was Casey scared too?

@casey

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@delisle

leaning his shoulder against the stone wall that formed the four walls of the room he was supposed to meet masin in he thought back to the rounds he has just finished. things were too quiet. it was a little unerving he'd admit. he expected something to happen soon and he was ready for it. there wasn't going to be anyone else hurt in the school, not while he as watching anyway. he'd seen what had happened to ethan, the girl that had been killed and the other things that had been happening. he ran his hand through his hair as he waited for her to turn up, tapped his foot against the stone floor and rolled his head a little.

he wasn't a patient person, was used to moving and doing things and the only time he was still is when he was asleep. hearing footsteps he lifted his head a little and saw it was her. good. he spotted the knife on her belt and he raised an eyebrow a little. she thought stabbing them would work? he shook his head a little and pressed off from the wall. "nice and quiet on the western front .. " he said with his signature easy grin slipping onto his face as he waited for her to tell him what had happened on her side so they could discuss the next night.

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Masin couldn't help but roll her eyes as she saw that devil may care grin and that smolder on Caseys face. He was a womaniser, that much was certain. Masin didn't really have a type, but she was sure that this suave debonair guy was not it. She nodded once, a firm businesslike nod, "eastern is clear as well. I have the Ravenclaw prefects checking the north side tonight and you sent the other Gryffindors South, correct?" Masin liked to plan things down to a tee, which sometimes made other people crazy. Still, Casey hadn't let her down before so she didn't know why she was always expecting himtoo.

"I think tomorrow night we should go together," she suggested. They hadn't done that since the beginning of the year, but things were starting to get more dangerous. "It's clearly safer that way," oh no, was that a hint of fear slipping into her tone? She bit her lip, folding her arms over her chest and trying not to give way to any emotion. No moments of weakness for Masin DeLisle, especially not in front of this muscley guy who would probably jump at the opportunity to comfort her. "What do you think?"

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@delisle

he nodded when she asked whether he'd sent the prefects from his house toward the southern end of the school. "yeah i sent ranger down, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. came back and said everything was fine so i told him to go back to the dorm. i think we can call it a night for them" he said, his shoulder still against the stone of the wall his eyes still focused on masin. everything was quiet, there wasn't any going on's in the school that needed to be brought to the notice of the professors, though he was pretty sure that if there was they'd know about it before any students. "together? you and me, on our own, together? why masin are you dropping your guard around me?" he said, the smile slipping easily back onto his face as he tilted his head slightly. he was teasing her of course. "oh it's safer. are you sure?" he said, the easy grin still on his face but something in his eyes shifted.

he knew it was true, it wasn't safe for anyone to be in the castle alone right now. the school was supposed to be the safest place around and he was going to help keep it that way. he knew that people often thought of him as a fun loving trouble making not very serious person at all, he was however quite the opposite. "pair off the prefects too, ranger and carcer can pair up, the two slytherins can stick with each other. amelia can pair up with the other gryffidor prefect? is ethan still out of action?" he asked, committing to memory the pairings if she agreed to them so they'd be able to hand out them out the next night. shifting between the houses seemed like a good idea too or so casey thought. "it'll be okay masin, it'll work out fine. i won't let anything happen to you" he said, sensing that she was starting to feel afraid. he didn't like knowing that any girl near him was afraid, object of his affection or not. he'd been taught they were to be protected, anyone around him really, he'd protect them.

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Masin was relieved that everything was reported fine. She even let out a breath she had been holding. Every night since Ethans attack she'd just been waiting to find a dead body. Or someone mangled. Or worst of all, Ethan hurt again. She shook her head at the thought, turning away for just a moment as Casey suggested that they call it a night for the prefects. She nodded in agreement, turning back to him as he questioned her ability to keep her guard up.

Her arms immediately crossed over her chest, "No," she said in her best snobby voice. He was clearly making fun, with that little grin and the tilt of his head. She glared not answering him right away. He went on to suggest that they pair off the prefects too, and she nodded. "Yes, exactly. It's safer for everyone. Plus, we decided in the meeting that people shouldn't be walking around alone. Ethan..." Ethan hated being considered 'out of action' buuuut, "Ethan won't be going on patrols. So yeah, Amelia can pair up with the lion." She looked past him for a moment, at the dark hall behind him and instinctively took a step closer to him.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Her eyes darted back to his at that, and she nodded. "And I you," she wasn't making fun, she was quite serious.

After a moment of silence, she shuddered. "I'm... okay, you can't make fun of me," she said quietly. "But... can you walk me back to my common room?"

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@delisle

"yes, exactly. it's safer for everyone. plus, we decided in the meeting that people shouldn't be walking around alone. ethan..." "ethan won't be going on patrols. so yeah, amelia can pair up with the lion." he nodded a little. he was glad she agreed with him on that much. it was much safer for the prefects to be doing their patrols on their own. he was quite comfortable to walk around the castle on his own, almost confident that he could handle anything that someone could throw at him but he wasn't an idiot. he knew he could be taken out, which at the moment was a risk he was going to have to take. the title of head boy meant putting other students before himself, it came with the job description. "and i you," he tilted his head a little to let her know that he understood. "i know" he said, glancing down the hall as the two of them fell silent for a moment.

"i'm... okay, you can't make fun of me," "but... can you walk me back to my common room?" he smiled a little. he was going to tease her. of course he was. he wouldn't be casey finnigan if he didn't. but he wasn't going to be mean. he understood. "but then who will walk me to mine? your all the way down in the dungeon. that's a long way for me to walk on my own" he said with a smile. but it didn't last long as the sound of glass shattering rang through the dark corridor they were in and his hand was on his wand straight away, his body turning so he was facing down the hall but his form shifted so masin was behind him. "stay behind me" he said, serious as he started to walk forward, illuminating his wand as he did.

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 Masin was grateful for the moment of silence that followed their declaration to protect one another. She wasn't a coward by any means, but dark times called for dark feelings and she was feeling them. Especially right now. She felt herself instinctively move closer to Casey as the silence followed.

When he spoke about having a long way to walk on his own. Masin rolled her eyes and started to smile before they heard the sound of glass breaking. She whipped out her wand just as fast as Casey did and let him step in front of her. She nodded and followed as he started to lead the way toward the sound, "Casey, maybe you should turn the light out," she suggested. That way they would be able to sneak up on the intruder. Or the intruder could sneak up on them...

"The Room of Requirement is on this level..." she said, very softly as she mused a place to use as a sanctuary if something particularly bad was about to happened.


@casey

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@delisle

he frowned as he kept his wand up, the light illuminating the hall in front of them. he knew masin was afraid and if he was being honest with himself so was he, but this was their job. they needed to check it out. "i don't want to give them the element of surprise" he said as he frowned and reached behind him to touch her arm, to let her know it was okay, that he would protect her no matter what the cost to him. he'd never let anything happen to her. he kept walking down the hall slowly, his feet making no noise as he placed them down carefully in such a way that there was no sound emitting from them. well not a sound the human ear could pick up.

"you go. it's back along this hall. i'll make sure no one follows you then i'll come meet you there once i checked it out. okay?" he said, his dark eyes scanning her face and he almost let them plead with her to go. at time he might be someone who came across as joking but this time he was serious. he wanted his partner out of harms way.

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Masin wasn't sure why he didn't want the upper hand of surprise, but perhaps he was worried they'd just kill him on sight. She shuddered at the thought. As he reached back to touch her, she felt a after of relief in her stomach. She nodded, clutching her wand a little tighter. Instinctively, she clasped his hand with her free hand.

He was looking at her now, suggesting that she go ahead for safety. It wasn't really a suggestion though as it was a plea. Her eyes were big, brown and shimmering as she nodded once, "please, please be careful," she have his hand a tight squeeze before slipping past him toward the safety of the RoR.

She told the room she needed somewhere safe, cozy and possibly for an all nighter. She stepped into the room, seeing the cozy sofa that clearly folded out into a bed if needed. There was also a cupboard, which she opened to find snacks and water. The Hufflepuff in her knew that eating was one of the few things that would make her feel better. She grabbed a pumpkin pasty and sat down, starting at the door.

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@delisle

he frowned as he checked out what had been the source of the noise that had sent masin to the room of requirment to hide out for a while. he discovered a candle holder had been knocked through one of the windows and from the looks of the cat that was sitting there innocently cleaning it's paw, it was the culprit. all that worry and almost panic for nothing. he sighed a little as he shook his head. he waved his wand to fix the broken glass, stood the holder back up and started to make his way back to masin. he found the room, opened the door and closed it behind him, knowing that as soon as he was inside the room would close since that's probably what masin had asked for. "it was just a cat" he said with a little grin, moving over to her he sat down and touched his hand to her shoulder. "all that worry for nothing hey?" he said with a reassuring smile and he reached to get something to eat, his stomach growling at the smell.

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When Masin heard the door open she stood and flipped around, eyes wide. When she saw that it was Casey, she relaxed. Her wand was still clasped tightly in her hand. She sat down again in time for him to sit beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She folded her arms over her chest, straightening up even more. "Great. Great," she clenched her fists. This was stupid, being scared for something so mediocre. Being scared at all! She was Masin DeLisle, Head Girl, Hufflepuff Keeper and fashion icon, more or less. She should be the one investigating and fighting bad guys. Not hiding out.

As Casey reached for food, Masins pasty just lay in her hands in her lap. She could eat when worried, but when feeling insecure and angry... Eating wasn't a good enough.

@casey

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@delisle

he glanced at her when he noticed that she wasn't eating. he frowned a little and folded the napkin that had held his food on it while he had eaten it. he was worried about her now, worried about what she was thinking. "masin? you should eat something" he said. he put the napkin in the bin and turned to look at her. "tonight was a good outcome. it was nothing to worry about." he wondered what she was thinking about. was she regretting being in the room of requirement with him? he hoped not. they might not get along at the best of times but he'd never let anything happen to her. which is why he head sent her to the room ahead of him. "i call that a win"

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As Casey went on, trying to console her, Masin was silent for a moment. As he called the night a 'win' she turned to face him with a slight glower on her face. "Aw, well, of course it was. If something bad had happened you would have been the hero or the martyr while I was the scared teenager. I don't want to be the damsel in distress, Casey," she folded her arms over her chest and turned away from him with a firm scoff.

Aw, classic Masin. Unable to let anyone take a bullet for her.

"Next time we both fight, got it?" she said, turning back to face him with that same look of morbid determination.

@casey