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Elspeth wouldn't say that she slept like a baby because she never enjoyed the saying. Most infants never slept through the night, making her wonder why people so often used it as an expression to claim that they had a good night of sleep. It was one of the many random thoughts that plagued her mind when she first woke up in the mornings. But she could say that she had a perfect night's rest, thanks to getting her revenge on Potter. Perhaps it was going a bit overboard, placing his pants all over the common room, but it was funny and he deserved it. She was sure if other students retaliated the way she did that the boys would probably leave them alone or it would start a massive war of pranks. She wasn't sure, but she didn't care. She went to bed feeling accomplished and enjoyed her dream world.
However, Elspeth didn't think she was in the clear just yet. She had to assume that James wouldn't give up so easily. It didn't matter much, she was fully prepared to drag his arse down if needed. Fortunately, for the girls of Gryffindor, the founders of Hogwarts did not find boys to be trustful meaning they weren't allowed in the girl dorms. But the girls were trusted enough and were permitted up the stairs to the boy dorms. If he tried anything, Elspeth wasn't going to go for a public display, she was going to get the boy during the most vulnerable time. She would go after him as he slept.
With a cheery smile on her face, Elspeth pushed herself out of bed and grabbed her uniform from her trunk before heading to the showers. She was early to rise, hoping to find Penelope in the Great Hall to tell her about James' trunk party the previous night in the common room. She showered quickly and threw on her clothes before taking a moment to realize that she would actually be on time for her morning classes. She took a moment to stare at herself in the mirror and pat herself on the back.
"Good on you, El."
Heading out of the dorms while the rest of the girls in her room slept, Elspeth made her way down the stairs to the common room, only to see James Potter waiting for her.
"Oh Merlin," she muttered to herself, having absolutely no interest in talking to the boy without some food in her stomach. She thought about letting her growling stomach carry the conversation but it probably leave James doing most of the talking and she certainly couldn't have that. Making her way down the stairs, she stepped down each step slowly until she reached the final step. Her arms crossed over her chest with an expectant look, waiting for him to start. She could see Remus, Sirius, and Peter peeking over the back of one of the sofas, waiting for the situation to unfold.
"Well Potter, did you collect your pants last night or have you decided to "go commando" this morning?" She asked him from the stairs as he didn't say anything.
Immediately, the boys snorted from the sofa causing James to glare at them from over his shoulder. They fell silent quickly before hiding again.
When he turned back to tell Elspeth off, he was suddenly pulled towards her by the waistband of his trousers causing him to stumble forward. But then he found her hand in his face pushing him back to get out of her way.
Her fingerprints smudged against his glasses, causing him to become annoyed as she walked away. Elspeth made her way over to the sofa where the three were suddenly watching her, wondering what she was going to do to them. She stopped in front of Sirius, a smile appearing on her lips before reached a hand out.
"Your hair looks nice today, Sirius," she told him as she ran it through the boy's hair. Immediately, Sirius had been rendered useless in that moment as he stared up at the girl with a smile of his own. His scalp tingled with a pleasant sensation before she pulled her hand away with a giggle.
"Nice enough for you to run your hands through them later?" He asked her in return.
"Maybe, I guess we'll see," she said before walking away after saying goodbye to them and walking through the portrait hole. Sirius was all smiles until he noticed the other three looking at him.
"What?! She was complimenting me and sweet Merlin, I wouldn't mind having her play with my hair. Have you not experienced the sensation, you're missing out." He folded his arms and looked away from the boys.
"Whatever," James rolled his eyes, " it's not like she can escape, we have all the same classes together, we'll get her."
"You see, you keep saying we," Remus pointed out. "I have nothing against Elspeth. She kicked you in the face because you tried to prank her and it didn't work out. I actually like Elspeth, she's really nice."
"Yeah, she is!" Sirius called out returning to the conversation.
"Shut up, Sirius, I'm talking about personality wise," Remus sighed.
"I was too...and-"
"Doesn't matter," James called over them. "I'm going to come up with a plan, let's head to breakfast."
James stood in the portrait hole as the boys cleared out of the Common Room, Peter and Remus were muttering something under their breath, when Sirius stopped by James' side for a second.
"What?" James looked at him, wondering what he wanted.
"Are you going commando?"
"Sirius!"
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Penelope shook her head as Elspeth informed her about the slight confrontation in the common room that morning. To be honest, she was incredibly surprised to see Elspeth show up early to breakfast. Normally the girl would show up within the last ten minutes or not at all if she slept in. But apparently, Penelope had missed out on plenty as Elspeth told her about the trunk raid and then James trying to confront her about it. The last thing Penelope wanted for her best friend was for her to get mixed up with the boys, knowing that no good would come from it.
"It was worth it," Elspeth smiled, "I got to touch Sirius' hair this morning and he offered me to run my hands through it later."
"Please don't tell me you said yes," Penelope sighed.
"I said maybe."
"El!"
"What? It's neither yes or no."
"El, he's best friends with James, the boy that is after you now because you made his pants into common room decorations. Don't you think that has the possibility to backfire on you?"
"Let's define backfiring in this situation," Elspeth said bringing Penelope to roll her eyes.
"Backfiring, meaning James pranking you until we leave this castle in pretty much three years."
"Does it still involve me touching Sirius?"
Penelope dropped her head onto the table, ignoring the giggling that came from her friend. As she had noted before, the girls were quite different when it came to handling situations. Elspeth approached them with little to no fear while Penelope was always rather cautious. Regardless if Elspeth was attracted to Sirius and for the sake of arguing, if he was attracted to her, Penelope didn't see it as a good thing. The boys were known for getting into a lot of trouble and if Elspeth planned on becoming an Auror, she really could afford to get in a lot of trouble, especially in the final years of Hogwarts.
She also didn't know how far James would go to get back at her, she had seen some of the pranks and some of the way the boys treated other students like Severus, she hoped it would come down to that extent.
"You worry too much, darling," Elspeth said reaching across the way and patting her friend on the head. "It's going to be alright."
Penelope glanced up at her, only to see the tea in Elspeth cup begin to bubble as it started to boil. The two girls turned their full attention to it before turning around and seeing James with his wand out. But he quickly looked away to avoid suspicion.
A little too late there, Potter, Elspeth thought to herself.
"El, this is what I'm talking about, you're getting involved in a war," Penelope whispered. "And as much as I hate to admit it, all four of them are incredibly smart. They'll find a way to get you."
"It's perfect," Elspeth said pushing herself up at the sound of the bell, " it gives me practice before I even start my Auror training."
"That's not what I meant!"
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Sitting in the Charms classroom and waiting for Professor Flitwick to arrive, Elspeth had settled for a spot in the middle of the classroom. Curious as to where the boys would sit knowing she was the subject that they were aiming for. They normally sat in the back, but that morning, they seemed to have a different plan. As she was busy twirling her quill between her fingers, someone sat next to her. She turned her head briefly to catch sight of Sirius sitting next to her. She could hear the seats behind her and off to the side. James was one chair away off to the other side of her while Peter and Remus were behind her.
"Oh no, I'm surrounded," she said in her best damsel in distress voice. "Whatever shall I do?"
What Elspeth didn't realize was that Sirius, Remus, and Peter were actually sitting around her so that James didn't get the opportunity to do so. She figured they were just on James' plan to get back to her but as Remus stated earlier, he didn't have a quarrel with Elspeth, neither did Peter. And while Sirius had an interest in her, it didn't have anything to do with pranking.
No one said anything else as Professor Flitwick arrived.
They were going to be reviewing the Banishing Charm for the first class of the term. The Depulso incantation was one of her favourites as she remembered the class where they had first learned how to banish items. It involved pillows and launching them back, although, with the four boys in the same class that were currently surrounding her, it had gone to hell in a handbag quickly. Pillows went through windows, students were knocked around, and it ended with Professor Flitwick ending the class practice early and the class just reading for the remaining time.
The small professor seemed to have recalled the same memory as he looked around the room with slight nerves to his expression. But he started off with just asking simple questions to the other students. James was left frustrated that his own best friends had sabotaged his attempts as he kept glancing over at Elspeth, trying to figure out how he was going to go through his plan.
"Mr Potter!" Professor Flitwick's voice rang out at a higher pitch than normal. He immediately turned his head and faced forward. "When you are finished staring at Miss Hayes, will you kindly answer the question I've been asking you for the last minute?"
The first person to laugh in the class was Lily from where she sat near one of the windows. Elspeth joined in the laughter as James didn't even know what question had been asked of him.
"Um...yes?" James went out on a limb and guessed.
Professor Flitwick made a face at the boy. "Yes? Is that your answer? The opposite of incantation of Depulso is Yes?"
The entire class burst into giggles leaving James red in the face before he shook his head. "No, Professor, it's Accio. The summoning charm."
"Well, can I accio your attention to my lesson?" Professor Flitwick asked him.
"Yes, Professor."
As Professor Flitwick turned his back to the class to grab something, James was suddenly hit by a ball of paper on the side of his face. He immediately grabbed it and opened it to see the message from Elspeth.
I'll have to start charging if you keep staring.
He crumbled up the paper and glared in the girl's direction only to be hit with another piece of paper.
Pay up.