Lost [Albus]

[cordelia regan smith]

@al

It happened again. Cordelia had gotten lost somewhere in the dungeons. What year was she again? Oh, that’s right. A sixth year. It was embarrassing, really. The reason it happened so often (often meaning that it occurred somewhere between five to ten times a month if she was lucky), was because she became rather absent minded upon walking through the door into the lower levels of the castle. The Hufflepuff common room wasn’t that far away, but one wrong turn and she would enter the endless maze of repeated dungeon walls. Sometimes she swore that they were enchanted to cause even more confusion; constantly moving around similarly to the staircases. That couldn’t be true though, because then it would be virtually impossible to escape them. And she usually did after a while. At least she didn’t think it was true. There were rumors of changing walls, but she had always assumed that was to scare first years into not wandering around the castle. It was quite easy to get lost after all. Cordelia was an expert in that.

Today was no exception to the other dozens of times she had done this. Instead of paying attention like a normal person, she was trying to read a book that she had just picked up from the library. In her defense, it was a really good book. Except the fact that it was also a really good distraction and got her really lost. The Hufflepuff didn’t notice it until she realized that she had been walking around for far longer than going to the common room normally took. With an exasperated sigh, she packed the book back into her bag and glanced around the corridor that she was in. Everything always looked the same down here. Dark, damp, dreary, and dark. They were kind enough to put torches on the walls though, which was usually how she ended up finding her way out. Following them a certain way typically led her back to the entrance. Slightly dragging her feet because she was tired of doing this, Cordelia headed off in the direction that she believed to be back to the door leading to the main hall. If it wasn’t? Well, she would find her way out eventually.

[Deleted]

cordelia regan smith

thanks to the numerous tunnels that made up the dungeon's of hogwarts, there was an endless amount of tunnels that led to nowhere, pointless ways that probably existed as a way of torture if someone ever managed to escape. albus liked them for the fact it gave him a quiet place to study. most students didn't like exploring the dungeons, they were a tad creepy after all but al liked the quiet of them, the peace that often didn't get disturbed. he was sitting with his back against the wall of one of these tunnels, a book open in his lap and a piece of paper sitting next to him, his pencil, because he didn't often use quills when he wasn't in class, scribbling down the notes as he read. he had potions homework and as much as he didn't love the class he needed it if he was going to join the auror program. after all, potions was apparently a big part of that job. who knew. so when he heard footsteps he was slightly surprised, it wasn't often anyone came across this way so hearing footsteps wasn't the norm. he lifted his eyes from the book and raised his brow slightly when he saw a hufflepuff girl making her way along it. "loose your way?" he asked, probably an obvious question but he was curious as to whether she'd admit she needed help to find her way out. he closed the book, not before slipping a piece of spare parchment into it so he could find his place again and he sat the book down next to him, his arm resting on his knee as his green eyes studied the student before him.

[cordelia regan smith]

@al

More walking ensued after she had figured out that she had gotten herself lost in the dungeons. The Hufflepuff had always thought that she was pretty good about paying attention and wasn’t absent minded, but every time this happened she was reminded of the fact that she kind of was. Minutes had passed after that realization, and Cordelia was still wandering around without a clue of where she was. The longest she had ever been stuck walking around was a few hours, so she wasn’t desperate to escape the maze just yet. If worse came to worse, she remembered backing a few cookies in her bag from lunch. That would hold her over for another couple of hours if she was hungry. There were also spells that could point her in the right direction, but that came with a cost; it meant she hadn’t learned her lesson yet when it came to getting lost. She knew she was capable of casting something to lead her right on out, but that was cheating.

Turning a corner, the first one she had come across actually, Cordelia stopped as she heard a voice asking her if she had lost her way. In her brilliance, she didn’t see the boy sitting on the ground right in front of her, instead having her mind wander off to being run into by a ghost. She hated when that happened. Most of them meant well, though there were a few that were tired of helping her out. Stopping to respond, she looked down and finally saw the boy sitting there. Cordelia blinked a few times. Well that made more sense than a ghost poofing through a wall to talk to her. Except that real, living people were harder to talk to than a ghost. Ghosts, in all their ethereal translucency, didn’t judge her for her stutter and had no problem if she completely ignored them. Humans though? They were the opposite. And this boy had already asked her a question, in which his answer would most likely help her escape the never ending dungeons.

“N-N-No…I-I uhh I…” Cordelia didn’t even know what she was trying to say. Continuing with that sentence would make it sound like she was fine and just going for a leisurely stroll through the dungeons. That was exactly what she didn’t want this to turn into. “Y-Yes,” she finally answered, looking down at her shoes and gripping her bag strap a little tighter. It was already embarrassing that she was lost. Why did her stutter have to make everything harder to do?

[Deleted]

cordelia regan smith

he kept his attention on the girl that had rounded the corner into the tunnel he was in and he almost raised a brow when she took so long to answer him but he refrained. it was easy to get turned around down here and when he'd been younger he'd often found himself lost. though he hadn't minded it. it was a great way to explore. “N-N-No…I-I uhh I…” she wasn't lost? he started gathering the books that were around him and he slid them into his bag, calling it a day on studying in the tunnels. his attention had been shifted so he'd probably need to find a new spot to study before he could really get back into it anyway. “Y-Yes,” he nodded slightly and got to his feet, gripping the strap of his book bag and he slung it over his shoulder, resting his hand on the bag where the strap and body met. "good answer." he said, a light grin crossing onto his face. he'd always been friendly when he had to be but for some reason in the last few months, he couldn't understand it, he found himself almost actually wanting to interact with people. of course he'd never be the warm feeling kind but he was starting to appreciate the company of people, more so than he had in the past. "do you need help finding your way out?" he asked her, curious. she might not want help, she might be one of those kids that had been like him, enjoyed the feeling of adventure.

[cordelia regan smith]

@al

Throughout her stuttering mess of indecisiveness, the boy that had been sitting on the ground packed up his things in a flurry and was now standing in front of her. Was it really that obvious that she was lost? It wasn’t like she was crying about it, or even worried for that matter; most of the anxiety she currently had was because she had to interact with this person that she had never met before, and admit that she was lost. Anxiety, the double-edged sword that it was, only fueled even more to come forth. Any second now her head was going to be spiraling out of control and she was going to retreat back to one word answers. That was just how it went.

The boy said that her second response was a good answer, and Cordelia turned her gaze from her feet to him. He was smiling for some reason. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Normally, meeting a person in a far off dungeon corridor that was eager to help out and grinning like that meant trouble. Though she had never personally encountered another person in all of her times getting lost, there was a first for everything. With her mind working overtime, coming across someone (a Slytherin at that, telling by the color of his robes) and having them be willing to help without a cost seemed too easy. Hopefully that was just the anxiety talking. He then asked if she needed help getting out of the dungeons, and Cordelia nodded her head. The worst thing that could happen was being lead into a deeper level that she had never been to before and left there; in which case then she would turn to magic to get out. The best possible result? He was a genuinely nice person that wanted to help.

[Deleted]

cordelia regan smith

well at least she nodded in response to his question. obviously she could talk, she'd spoken to him a minute ago, though she'd had a stutter. which might explain why she didn't want to answer him again. he hadn't met many people with a stutter but he could only imagine it was easier to only say things when it was needed, especially to someone they didn't know. well that was the way he saw it as well. it could also be that he was sitting down here in a dungeon all alone. some might see that as scary. he ran his hand down the strap of his book bag and nodded back to her. "alright." he said as he started to step in the direction she'd come from. she might find it strange that she'd come from that way but it really was the fastest way out of the dungeons. "i'm albus." he introduced himself as he walked. he was sure he'd seen her in passing in the halls. but there were a few hufflepuffs with blonde hair so he couldn't be too sure.