Please Show Me (Louis)

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Jace wanted adventure. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. He'd been in Hogwart's Castle for a few weeks, but he had yet to really go exploring or find some fun prank or adventure to get into. What was going on?! He needed to get out there and do something! The problem was, all his normal partners-in-crime were nowhere to be found. What was he supposed to do now? He looked around the common room curiously, wondering if anyone here would want to get out and do something. He looked at all the faces, searching for someone that looked just as bored as he felt. Ugh. No dice. He moved over to the window and looked out for a second, tapping a foot anxiously. He just had to get out of here tonight, or he was going to have issues. Curfew wasn't too far away, but that didn't matter to him. He looked around the room once more and then gave up. To heck with this; he'd explore himself! He made his way out of the room casually, hoping no one would notice, and then hurried through the corridors quickly, turning this way and that. It wasn't long before he was lost, which was absolutely perfect. At least, it was perfect until he heard footsteps approaching and there was nowhere to hide. Crap. He made his way toward a corner and tried to hide in the shadows. If they didn't pay attention, they might not see him. Hopefully.

@louis

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Louis was on his first Prefect duty of the semester, and he had been paired with a Slytherin girl who had said all of five words to him including that she’d take the ground levels for patrol. He wasn’t entirely sure if they were supposed to patrol together or separate, but she hadn’t seemed to be that good of company. Ah well, he supposed that sullen company was better than no company at all. He found himself wishing that Georgie had been made Prefect so he’d at least have someone fun to patrol with. All his other friends would never in their right mind be named Prefect; he honestly wasn’t so sure why he had been in the first place. Patroling with Hugo would have been great too, but it seemed so far that Hugo would be patrolling more with Addilyn, the Head Girl.

So here he was, languidly walking around the halls looking for any troublemakers. It was before curfew, so anyone he caught at the moment of course would just be reminded to get to their rooms, but it looked to be pretty dead so far in the corridors. As he turned, her heard the distinct noise of scampering coming from a pair of feet into the shadows. Now that reminded him of his Prefect duty-free years; trying to use the torchlight to hide and hope you go unnoticed. Louis’ keen eyes quickly spotted the culprit; a young boy who he vaguely recognized seeing in the Gryffindor common room. One of the transfers then, Louis had been meaning to get to know at least the names of them but just...hadn’t gotten around to it. “You can come out you know, I’m not going to get you into trouble,” he called kindly. He smiled at the younger boy. “What’s your name lad?” he asked curiously.

@jace

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Crap. Well apparently hiding didn’t help him at all. Someone was talking to him, telling him that he could come out and that he wasn’t in trouble. Jace wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust the guy, but he didn’t really have a choice. It was either trust him, or probably get into trouble himself. Jace stepped out of the corner and smiled at the guy hesitantly. “I’m Jace Hunter.” He looked around, wishing he could still sneak off. “I was just … checking things out. New place and everything,” his tone was soft, but he felt like he needed to explain himself at least a little bit.

@louis

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Louis took a look at the boy and recognized the red trim of his robes. That would put him in Gryffindor, Ilvermorny transfer by the sound of his excuse for being out. When he had gotten his letter telling him of his Prefectship, Louis had joked around with his sisters that he would come up with a list of excuses he himself had made for being out of bed after hours and compare it to the ones he heard this year. Of course, he hadn’t expected there to be so many new transfers; no one had. The news that Ilvermorny had been damaged to a point where it wasn’t safe for students had come as a shock to everyone in the wizarding world. Louis was particularly grateful that Georgie’s older brother had already graduated, and more so that she didn’t attend the school like she may have when her mother had been back in the picture for a shining moment. Of course, he was also grateful that school was not in session when the attacks happened - from the Prophet, there had been no casualties. But right now, it was best not to dwell on such things.

“Understandable, it is a big castle. I’ve never been to Ilvermorny obviously, so I don’t actually know how it compares,” Louis said with an understanding smile. He wanted the kid to make sure he knew he wouldn’t be put in detention for being out of bed. “What are you most interested in finding?” he asked, curious to where this newcomers interest lay. Perhaps he was a thrill seeker like Louis himself; he could definitely be of assistance in that area.

@jace

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Despite the fact that the other guy said he wasn't going to get Jace in trouble, he wasn't entirely sure whether or not that was true. The guy had a badge on that Jace was pretty sure meant he was one of the people in charge. So, was he just asking what Jace was up to so he'd know what to get him in trouble for? Then again, even if that was true, Jace wasn't really the type to be cautious. He came out here when he knew he wasn't supposed to, so getting in trouble was something he deserved.

His head twisted to the side a little when the older student said that it was a big castle, so he understood wanting to explore. "Well it's a pretty big castle too. It's at the top of a mountain in Massachusetts," Jace answered. "This one is different though. You've got moving staircases and a forbidden forest. Just a bunch of stuff I've never seen." He shrugged when the older student asked what he was most interested in. "Finding something exciting? Not really sure what ... maybe I'll know when I see it." Jace didn't know enough about the castle to know what he was searching for exactly.

@louis

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Louis nodded, listening to Jace describe Ilvermorny. Briefly, he wondered what it would have been like had Georgie and Lance not found their way across the pond to Great Britain, and attended Hogwarts with the help of the orphanage. Would they have gone to Ilvermorny? Quite likely, as he’d heard there was a Hawaiian girl from Ilvermorny attending Hogwarts now; his geography wasn’t fantastic, but he was pretty sure South Carolina was closer to Massachusetts than Hawaii. “Your staircases didn’t move then?” he asked curiously. He didn’t know what he had expected; perhaps he had just assumed all castles of magical origin had tricky moving staircases. “Well, they’re more than just moving staircases, some of them have trick steps that cause your foot to sink down, and sometimes if they’re feeling spiteful they’ll transport you to a corridor that leads to nowhere,” Louis explained eagerly, remembering with something less than fondness of the first time his foot had sunk into that trick stair his second year. Oh how his friends had laughed themselves hoarse before deigning to pull him out; his sister had been Prefect after all, and he had in as many words told them he’d go right to her if they didn’t help him out.

“The portraits are….interesting too. Sir Cadogan up by the West Tower still believes he’s a true blood knight in service to a monarch. Wonder what he’d say if he knew Britain currently has a Queen,” he added, smirking slightly. He had taken Divination his third year, when he had met the portly knight on his way to the classroom. He had not however done well in the subject, and made the wise decision to drop after his poor examination results had come in. “What sort of secrets are you interested in finding?” he asked the boy, cocking his head to one side.

@jace

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Jace shook his head as the Prefect asked a little about Ilvermorny. "No, our staircases were pretty ordinary I think." His expression slowly shifted into a grin as the other student started explaining more about the stairs here. Some of them had weird steps? That was awesome! His eyes widened. "Seriously? That sounds so cool! So do you know where all the stairs and corridors lead to then?" Honestly, Jace was still having a little bit of a hard time with the size of this castle. It was ginormous! How was he supposed to get everywhere on time? Especially if one of the staircases was being picky. Man, a part of him just wanted to skip all his classes so he could explore the place. It was fascinating. He definitely would not mind getting lose here. "This place is so cool," he muttered as he glanced around the corridor they were in right then. Nothing was particularly special about it, but still. It was a new place.

The guy talked more about the portraits, naming one in particular and Jace just shook his head. It was so much to take in, which made it even cooler. "I'll have to keep an eye out for that knight. He sounds like fun." Actually, Jace might have to seek him out. He wanted to see first hand what this older student described. He shrugged as the guy asked what kind of secrets he wanted to know. "I dunno ... are there any secret passageways? Or places to hideout?" he was trying to keep the pure excitement out of his tone a bit, but Jace was almost positive he failed at that. "Or secret rooms or something? I dunno ... I just want to discover this place." He wasn't making any sense anymore, but Jace didn't care. He was too excited.

@louis

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Louis laughed; imagine that, ordinary staircases at a wizarding school! Perhaps it was just that he was so used to Hogwarts he just assumed the other schools were the same. He realized it wasn’t a question he had posted to his mother, who had attended Beauxbatons about moving staircases, and made a note to pose the question in his next letter home. His parents were used to random, odd questions from their youngest son, and the request wasn’t too unusual. “I don’t think anyone knows where all the staircases leave, not even Professor McGonagall,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly. He knew his uncles, Fred and George, had discovered many of the hidden passages over their tenure at Hogwarts, but the staircases moved so frequently that Louis highly doubted anyone was capable of calculating exactly when what staircase led where.

“It is pretty cool here isn’t it?” Louis agreed, smiling fondly as he looked up and down the corridor. He’d miss this place when he graduated next year, and the realization hit him with a small pang to his heart. It’d be weird, not boarding the Hogwarts Express September 1st with Georgie and all his friends who were a year younger than him, swapping Chocolate Frog cards and secretly practicing magic when they were supposed to be in bed. At Jace’s next question though, Louis, realizing where they were, lit up. “Well, I suppose I can let you in on one of Hogwarts’ secrets,” he said, pretending to contemplate the decision. He took off, his strides long and fast as he made his way to their destination - a blank stretch of wall. “Now, you’re going to have to concentrate for this,” he instructed, squaring his body to face the boy. “Think of what you’d want to find in your favorite room - aside from anything food related, you’ll see what I mean in a few minutes. Once you have that room pictured in your head, close your eyes, and pass by this wall three times, then open your eyes back up.” He paused, gaging the boys’ reaction before waving his hand towards the wall. “Go on then,” he encouraged, knowing Jace probably thought he was quite mad at this moment.

@jace

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Jace couldn't help but make a face when the older boy said that no one knew where all the staircases went all the time. That was a disappointment, and while he was dedicated to learning more about the school, he didn't want to put more effort into figuring them out than other people did. Especially if he wasn't going to be able to get anywhere with it. 

He nodded fervently as the older boy asked if it was cool. "Yes," Jace answered instantly. "I wish I had more time to just explore, but everyone's determined to make me study for my O.W.L.S." His nose wrinkled in disgust. Sure, tests and stuff were important, but he was in a new place! He wanted to see it, not just the grooves on the tables he had to study at. Jace's eyes widened when he said he would let Jace in on a secret. He followed the guy quickly, a grin covering his face as he told Jace to think of what he'd want in his favorite room. He thought for a moment, then remembered a camping trip last year when he and his families didn't bring tents or anything, just hammocks. He thought of a room full of hammocks with scary stories inside and then started following the older boy's directions to pace in front of the wall. Hopefully he wasn't just pulling some sort of prank on Jace. He froze when, after walking past the wall three times, a door appeared. He glanced over at the other boy, smiling just a little as he stepped forward and opened the door. "This is awesome!" he said, stepping in fully and running so he could jump in a hammock. "What is this place?" he asked, sure that the prefect followed him in. 

@louis

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Louis smiled appreciatively. “Ah those old adults. They’re just trying to ensure you….oh, what’s the word...assimilate? By making sure you’re as stressed about your OWLs as we all have been in the past,” he said with a chuckle. It was, after all, the professors job to ensure they did well on their examinations, as it reflected back on them and their skills as professors. It was an odd day indeed when Louis Weasley finally understood why the professors had nagged him so much about studying. Perhaps this Prefects badge really was rubbing off on him.

The expression on the boys’ face however, wiped all thoughts of OWL examinations from both of their minds. This was exactly why Louis loved being there the first time anyone saw the Room of Requirement. It was hard to believe this room existed to benefit ones’ exact needs except for food of course - his aunt had once explained it was because of Gamps Third Law of Transfiguration, but Louis had been twelve and had therefore succeeded in tuning her speech out. “This, Jace, is the Room of Requirement. As in you are required to think of exactly what you want it to be, and it will turn into that for you,” he explained, taking in the room full of hammocks the boy had imagined. “Camping trip?” he guessed, laughing a bit as Jace took a running leap into a hammock. He situated himself in one a bit more gracefully; he was an eight veela, though male, it still afforded him an unusually high sense of balance. “This would be fun - just camping out under the stars, being lulled to sleep by the woodsy sounds and the rocking of the hammock.” Just saying the words made Louis a little drowsy, and he chuckled. “Best not fall asleep though, otherwise we’d both be in trouble.”

@jace

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The prefect seemed to understand what Jace was saying, which was a relief, since maybe it meant Jace could stay out of trouble longer. Also, being on the same page as someone in authority was generally a good thing. Still, he grimaced at the other boy's words. "Ugh. I don't like stress. I normally don't mind school work too much, but I definitely like to have time to check things out, especially now that I'm in an entirely new place. They should've at least given me a week to explore before burying me in paperwork." Yes, Jace was exaggerating a little bit, but that was just his personality, especially when he was particularly annoyed about something.

Jace was in awe. He couldn't help but stare around him at all the decorations in the room. It was almost as if the room registered what he want and gave it to him exactly. How was that possible? He listened as the older boy started to explain how the room would become whatever he wanted it to be. He grinned and nodded at the guess. "Yes. I love camping. Especially in hammocks," Jace answered, not embarrassed in the least. This was one of his favorite things to do over the summer and the fact that he could do it here? Well ... maybe he found a place he'd like to study, if he could just come here. He turned to look quizzically at the other boy. "What, have you never camped outside?" The way he was speaking ... it sounded like he hadn't, which was plain crazy in Jace's book. Everyone should enjoy some good camping every now and again. He sighed, "Eh, I won't fall asleep ... probably. No promises." He was far more relaxed than he'd felt in a while. Sitting in a hammock did that to him. "How did you find this place anyway?"

@louis

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Louis chuckled. “Ah, but that wouldn’t be the Hogwarts way!” he announced with a broad grin. Especially not in fifth year, if he was correct in guessing Jace’s age. Fifth year was OWL year, and OWL year meant the teachers were bent on making sure every single one of them was well enough prepared for their examinations. The results of course were as much as a reflection on them as they were on the students’ potential employers. Fortunately for Louis, his uncle was already a dragonologist, so he had an “in” as they say. “You get Career Advice from your Head of House in March as well, though if you guys end up going back to Ilvermorny when the year is over it’ll be interesting to see who you’ll be assigned as a career advisor.” Louis knew that some of the professors from Ilvermorny had come over with the students, but they taught subjects that had been specific to Ilvermorny alone - he had decided, in his seventh year, not to add to the course load he was already undertaking.

As to the boy’s question - how did he find this place - Louis grinned, sitting back in the hammock, using his hands as a pillow as he stared up at the ceiling. “I come from a very….very, large family. My uncle was the one who first found out about how this room works and used it to conduct illegal training sessions when their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was….well, my Uncle George called her a troll, so you get the picture.” Louis chuckled, remembering one particular family reunion dinner when the younger Weasleys, his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Harry had gone on a tangent about Dolores Umbridge, who mercifully was behind bars at Azkaban currently. His heart panged thinking about his uncle Harry, who was still missing, and was glad Jace couldn’t currently see his face. “Long story short, word got out about how to find the room and how to work with it, so here we are.” Louis lifted his head slightly, looking over at the younger boy. “Campings’ not really my thing - I prefer beach houses. It’s where I grew up,” he explained with a small shrug. “Why do you like camping so much?” he added as a counter question.

@jace

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Jace squinted, "Well that's just rude. You might try giving someone a week to adjust to their new surroundings before loading them down with a bunch of homework." He knew that complaining about the fact wasn't going to change anything, but he was still annoyed and might as well complain about it to someone who didn't seem to mind listening to him. That was a nice change. Most people got annoyed or rolled their eyes when Jace complained about his work load. It was annoying, in the least. He turned his attention back to the guy in front of him as he started explaining about Career Advice. Great. So they thought Jace knew what he wanted to do now? Of course they did. Maybe he'd look into it ... or beg Brooke to help him figure out some potential options. "Why would that be interesting? Wouldn't they just assign us someone here and someone else when we go home?" Maybe this guy knew some of the school plans or something, since he was obviously in a position of authority with that badge on his chest.

Jace turned in his hammock, facing the other boy as he started to explain his story, which was fascinating. Illegal training sessions for Defense Against the Dark Arts class? That sounded amazing! He did mention a bad teacher, but still that sounded like fun. Then again, Jace was always down for any kind of rule-breaking, which was probably why the idea sounded so good to him. He looked back up to the ceiling, fantasizing what that would have been like. Then the guy said he preferred beach houses to camping and asked about Jace's preference. "I grew up on a small island near Alaska. We did quite a bit of camping growing up. I like nature a lot, and exploring and messing around. It's easiest to do that outside and when I was camping it was rare for someone to tell me no." He laughed. That sounded like he was spoiled, but Jace didn't really care. It was true.

@louis

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Louis hesitated at his question. He honestly didn’t know if the kids were just at Hogwarts for the year and returning back to Ilvermorny at the end or not. It didn’t necessarily matter to Louis as he was graduating regardless of whether or not they stayed or left. “Wouldn’t that get confusing though? What if they offer you two completely separate advice?” he reasoned, letting his arms swing from the side of the hammock. The other part of it all was he had no idea just how bad the damage to Ilvermorny really was - nobody did. Well, not student wise at least; he assumed the adults and his aunt Hermione at the very least knew what damage had been done and how to fix it. Just...how long was it going to take?

“Alaska eh?” Louis peered over at him, interested. He had of course seen plenty of maps in his life, with his father being a Cursebreaker, and he distinctly remembered Alaska being very large and very northern. “Wasn’t it freezing all the way up there though?” he couldn’t help but ask. He wouldn’t be a huge fan of camping in sub-zero weather, even though there were plenty of magical ways to keep warm inside the tent. He preferred the summer months, or early fall and late spring. Winter though, winter could stay away for as long as it could in his opinion.

@jace

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Jace shrugged when the older student asked if that would be confusing. "I mean, maybe. Then again, maybe one of them will give me the ideas for the jobs I really want to do while the other doesn't. I like getting suggestions from all over the place, so I don't think that would be a bad idea." He didn't know how long he would be here, so Jace didn't want to commit to anything with anyone, even a counselor, strange as that seemed. He just wanted to explore the new place and have fun doing it. 

The older boy was obviously intrigued when Jace mentioned Alaska and he grinned. That was a pretty typical reaction. "Yeah, Alaska. There's a magical community on an island up there. It's a cool place." He rolled his eyes at Louis' mention of the cold. "That's what magic is for?" They had magically-heated tents up in Alaska, almost like how muggles could set their house to a specific temperature and get it, he could do that with his tent. "Besides, being a little cold is part of the fun." Sometimes Jace camped outside just to prove that he could. It was part of the adventure.

@louis