Leave out all the rest {{open

[johncarter]

John walked down the corridor on the third floor, listening to only the echoing sound of his footsteps. He looked around for at least the tenth time, and there was still no one around. Why did it seem like the castle was so empty? Christmas hadn't arrived yet, where people would be leaving the castle to go home for the holiday. It was only November, and the kids wouldn't be outside on the grounds in this chill. It was a sure sign that winter was coming. But it wasn't here just yet.

John kept his pace and wondered where exactly he was going. To be honest with himself, he truly had no idea. Where was he going? There wasn't much for him to do on the third floor and at the moment, no classes were going on. Well, he supposed dinner would be soon and he could go down to the great hall and have something to do. What else was there to do between now and then though? There was roaming around, there was picking up a book, there was striking up conversation with a colleague or friend... But he wasn't in the biggest mood for conversation, his mind was in other places.

It was sort of scattered, with thoughts of Christmas, and what he was going to do. There were thoughts of lesson plans. There, of course, were thoughts of her. But he wasn't sure what to think of her right now. She had disappeared without a word, only leaving a note saying she would be back before Thanksgiving. He was worried, although he was trying to keep his mind off it. But he couldn't help wondering where she had gone and was she okay. He hadn't even gotten an owl. Now feelings of anger were coming, but he didn't want to be angry. So he shut her out of his mind for now. She will be a problem he'll have to deal with later.

John came to a stop beside a window, and looked outside at the starry night sky. It was quite beautiful, especially over the Forbidden Forest. But as he looked, it looked as though something moved in the shadows way down below. It was away from the castle, near the edge of the forest, but not exactly in the forest either. It could just be an animal, a centaur or something of that sorts. Although, with the Death Eaters in command at the moment, the centaurs would not be seen anywhere near the forest... It had looked very suspicious. John continued to stare, trying to figure out what the shadow figure was when he heard a sound in the background behind him.

[weasleyisourking3]

Madelyn Taylor sprinted through the corridors at top speed with a smile plastered to her face, her toes merely pattered against the stone floors her feet were moving so fast. Her fingers gripped her broom tightly as it flailed along behind her. Her shin pads flapped around loosely, half of the leather straps were open. After quidditch practice, the girl had just stopped by the owlry to pick up a letter that her mother had received for her. Apparently the people had sent it to the wrong place, sending it to Cheshire instead of Hogwarts. She opened it and her tired, practice worn body went stiff. The brunette squealed out of excitement. It was the acceptance letter form the football club she had guested with at a few tournaments over the summer and holidays. They finally made their decision, and a damn good one at that. They were not going to regret it. And that’s when she took off running. She needed to get in touch with Rose.

Maddy hauled ass across the castle. She needed to get back to the dorms to start writing that letter, asap! On her way, she knocked Filch over into the pile of dirt he had just spent the last few hours sweeping up. “Sorry!” the girl called behind her without hesitation in her stride. She burst out in a fit of laughter and kept running. There was nothing that was going to stop her. As she raced down the third floor corridor, taking a shortcut to the Gryffindor tower, she turned her head to look over her shoulder to see if Filch was on her tail. Nah, she was too fast for an old man to catch. The girl turned back around and tripped over her broomstick, doing almost a complete flip in the air and landing on her stomach. She looked around the corridor to see a familiar face. Damn, why did this guy always have to catch her at her worst moments. The first time he walked in just as she was cracking a pervy joke. The next time she was showing Rose how she was drunk-dancing at a club. The third time she was actually drunk and completely out of her mind. And this, the fourth time, she fell flat on her face out of nowhere. Lovely. This boy definitely has high expectations for her. Madelyn flipped over, propping herself up on her elbows still slightly laughing. “’Sup?” she said with a nod, brushing her hair out of her face with her thin fingers. Smooth, Maddy, smooth…way to look like a complete derp without even trying.
ooc: i'm too lazy to make this pretty.

[johncarter]

John heard a small thump behind him, and turned to see the source of the noise. It was Madelyn, lying flat on her stomach on the floor. Of course. Why was he not surprised? Every time he saw this girl she seemed to be doing something ridiculous, but not in a bad way. She would be hanging out with Rose, and the two of them would be enjoying themselves and part of that sometimes included acting a little ridiculous. If anything, John found it cute. Whenever Rose acted stupid, she would apologize and he would smile and tell her it was fine, she was being natural when she was like that. And he enjoyed it. So seeing Maddy act that way gave him a glimpse of who she really was, especially when she was with her best friend. ”Nothing really, just wandering. And you? Where are you rushing off to so fast? Running from or to something?” he added with a slight chuckle.

All of a sudden, John found himself wondering how much Maddy knew about Rose’s little… Adventure she had left for. They were best friends, she had to have some idea, even if Rose didn’t say anything. But he would ask her that later, right now he just wanted to talk casually. After all, this was someone he ought to be a little more close to. Especially when he would hear her name so often when talking to Rose. “Maddy and I did this,” or “Maddy told me this,” all the time. Sometimes he even forgot her full name was Madelyn, and not just Maddy. The only reason he really knew that was because she had actually been his student. She had been, her friend had not. He actually had Madelyn to thank for how he met Rose. He owed her, and felt a twinge of guilt at not making more of an attempt to be friends with her recently. He was just quite preoccupied.

John slowly bent down and extended his hand to her, as a gesture to help her up. She was just laying on the floor, her head propped up on her elbows. There was one thing he had to admit, she didn’t seem to be worried about being herself, at least around him. But he made sure in this thought to put emphasis on seem. He of all people should know that everything is not what it seems. But he smiled, and hoped that what seemed to be was true, being it would be a sign of trust.

ooc: its true, ur good at lookin like a derp

[weasleyisourking3]

[A smile spread across Madelyn’s face. “Ah, yanno, just chilling here, on the floor, by myself, no big deal,” she said with a chuckle. The girl just had this epic sense of timing, always doing something unusual when she ran into John. Why? She asked herself. He probably thought she was a complete wreck, well, she was, but in her own special way. She had her high and mighty moments, as well as her ones where she seemed to be on that endless downward spiral. Either way, though, she managed to balance herself out.

Maddy looked up at him with her icy blue eyes. “Don’t you have something better to do than wandering around? Like, maybe, I dunno, teaching a class or giving a student, that isn’t me, some sort of detention? Oh if I only had your authority…” the wide smile on her face thinned to a mischievous smirk. If only she had the power of a professor. That would be the day. She could picture herself standing in front of a student, “FIVE MILLION POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN!” with that devilish smile that you always fear from professors. That would be the day. Except she would probably make a horrible professor. Madelyn hated children, with a burning passion. She couldn’t tolerate their stupid questions and, oh dear, if she ran into a pair like young Rose and herself, no one would make it out alive.

The brunette accepted the man’s gesture to help her up, pulling herself too her feet. She bent down to pick up her broom and inspected it for any dents or scratches. Nope. All clear. That was a bit of a relief. Imagine how devastated the seventh year quidditch keeper would be if her broom had been broken. It might as well have been an apocalypse. “Thanks,” Madelyn said with a nod, yeah, it was a bit delayed, seeing as it had been a few moments since she had been helped up. “So,” she said, brushing some of her messy, chocolate-caramel colored hair out of her face, “what have you been up to recently? Anything exciting?”

[johncarter]

John smiled at Maddy. He could see how she and Rose were friends, they seemed to think alike to a certain degree, and complimented each other well. A dynamic duo. He used to have that, a dynamic duo. Except his friend had gotten killed along with his parents when Bellatrix had begun her comeback. John had lost a lot around that time. His friend, his girlfriend, and he left his family, although he wasn't crazy about them to begin with. But he started a new life. He was teaching now, or at least getting there, and had a few friends. He had Rose, and he had Maddy in a way. "Nope, I'm free, no teaching right now. And if you had my authority in any way, I would probably make sure to find a good hiding spot." John could only imagine the havoc she would purposely cause just for fun and entertainment. The funny thing was, is that most of the time you think of Death Eaters in that way, but Madelyn was so far from one of them. She had a good spirit and heart, and wouldn't harm another physically or mentally for absolutely no reason. They would have to give her a reason first before she would do that. "No, nothing exciting. The holidays are coming up, and I've just got nothing to do with my time. What about you? Going home for the holidays or staying here?". This question was genuine but had a slight hint of another underlying purpose. If she was staying, she might say "I'm staying here with Rose and....." or if she was going it could be "I'm going home" or even possibly "Rose and I are leaving together." He knew they had spent some time together over the summer. He wanted to ask Maddy if she had heard from her friend recently, but that could wait. That question could wait.