// ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs ᴀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ

dependent rp blog

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--TOBYLONGBOTTOM

He supposed she was right, Toby was a pretty normal name. He’d certainly never been teased for it. Although he also struggled to think how he’d make jokes out of the name Maude either, not that he specialised in bullying. At Maude’s question he looked quite horrified. “I- well, no, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s what happens to lactose intolerant people,” he reasoned. “Is it?” Now that he thought about it, he didn’t think he’d ever met anyone with the condition. “But Cecil’s been eating dairy for a while right? And he’s never exploded before has he?” That was probably something you’d notice. 

       ‘ IT’S NOT? --- well that’s disappointing. ’    was it?      she covered up her sadness with a casual smile.     ‘ can you imagine it though? ’     she imagined a woman  ( suspiciously looking like her mother )   being splattered into a billion pieces after having a glass of milk.     she processed the boys words for a moment.   cecil had often jumped on the dining table at home whenever even the word milk was mentioned,    which always resulted in a flick on the nose from her aunt.     ‘  well there might have a little incident in first year transfiguration.  though he didn’t actually explode...  just came close.  ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--RCSEWEASLEYS

rose knew maude was faking her confidence, but she wasn’t about to call her out on it, friends didn’t have to put each other down even if they were competing in something. “no?” she rolled her eyes before shaking her head. “you have no idea maude, i could very well be the daring type, just depends entirely on the situation at hand.” she murmured before grinning at her friend before bursting into laughter. “i can’t believe you actually compared your mother to a troll!”

      ‘  OH REALLY.  ’     that was it,    that one word that always set maude off.   daring.   there was a devious smile across her face.     think maude,    think!     what would be the perfect test of the ravenclaw’s daring nature?        ‘ i dare you to brew a potion blind  &  then test it on yourself. ’    her eyes flashed with a look that was pure slytherin.    knowing that it was a dare that   even   she would’ve thought twice.   ‘  you would too if you met her.   in fact,   ask your mum. she probably agrees with me. ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--TOBYLONGBOTTOM

“Oh,” he said a little crestfallen. “Won’t he get confused if I change it now though?” He didn’t want Wilber to come home only to think Toby had forgotten him. “Besides, Maude isn’t a terrible name. Not as bad as Longbottom anyway.” He grinned, well aware of how ridiculous his family name was. He’d heard of cats drinking milk before, so dairy made sense, but butter still seemed an odd choice of lure. “Any dairy product or just butter?” How did you even find out your cat liked butter? “Aren’t cats lactose intolerant?”

      she hesitated,     lips pursed in a state of confusion,    ‘ he’s a toad.  he probably doesn’t know his own name anyway. ’    not that maude had much experience to go on.    she’d found a frog in a drain outside her great aunt’s house once.  though she was pretty sure she read somewhere that frogs  &  toads were mortal enemies--- or maybe she made that up.  ‘  yeah  but  your first name is   toby.   it’s like the most normal name ever. ’   at least the boy wasn’t walking around with an albatross like    bulstrode .     ‘ well i couldn’t carry the milk around could i? ’    she teased,   flicking a few clumps of butter on the floor as he continued to speak.   at his words,  her eyes widened,    ‘  wait   what?     you don’t think he’s exploded d’ya? ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFWIX:    dominique

The look of annoyance was still evident on her features, however they slowly faded into a blank slate as the other girl spoke again. “No, I don’t.” She said softly, and while stubborness was a quality she was known for, she decided it would be easier to take a seat next to the Slytherin. She placed her bag atop the table, sliding onto the bench before placing her parchment down alongside it. She could only give in so much, of course. “Skepticism is a talent of mine.” Was her only response before she slid the paper closer to her. “You can read mine if I can read yours. Like you said I don’t want my name on something I’m not sure isn’t high quality.”

        maude let her blank expression slip ever so slightly into something that could   almost   be considered a smile.      ‘  that’s kind of obvious. ’    sensing that the girl was about to join her,  maude tidied some of her papers,   forming one large pile in front of her.    as dominique sat beside her,  maude gave her a peculiar look.    sensing an opening,  she grabbed the paper,  switching it for her own.   ‘ poor handwriting is a   talent   of mine. ’    she mimicked dominique’s words,   gesturing to the scribbles on her own assignment,  ‘ mcgonogall once offered to bewitch my quill to make it write neater,    but i enjoy making the professors work more difficult.’        

[wynonna-waverly]

#when you hear that they gonna show you your favorite characters backstory…

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--TOBYLONGBOTTOM

His brow crinkled in worry. Was Wilber a terrible name? “Maybe that’s why he keep running away,” he wondered aloud. He was distracted from his worry by noticing the handful of butter she was carrying. “Cecil huh? Not that I know of.” He genuinely tried to recall if he’d seen a cat on his travels but his mind came up blank. “What’s the butter for?” He gestured to the dripping slab in her hand, curiosity getting the better of him.

      maude shrugged,     a smile on her face.    ‘ trust me,    as someone who grew up with a terrible   name,     i can guarantee that’s why.  ’      how many times had she wanted to flee from her mother as a child?   you’ll grow in to that name,   she’d aways declared.    the thought alone made her face turn sour.    ‘  butter?  ’     she bit her lip,    not expecting to get away with playing innocent   &  quickly giving in,    ‘ cecil has a taste for dairy. ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--RCSEWEASLEYS

a laugh escaped rose’s lips before she turned to maude and wrinkled her nose. “you think you could defend yourself against me?” rose usually never  boasted about her skills. in that aspect, she wasn’t at all like her mother, at least from the stories she’d heard from her uncle harry and the rest of her father’s family. “but wouldn’t i?” except the truth was, she wouldn’t hex her friend, at least–not on purpose. but at maude’s comment about saving her, she couldn’t help but grin. “oh yeah? what’s this personal experience story? i feel like i need to know it, you know–to gauge your skill.”

       maude’s voice was full of confidence as she folded her arms in front of her chest,   ‘maybe.’  she didn’t make any attempt to hide the doubt in her voice,    she’d be the first to admit that rose would have an upper-hand.   ‘ you’re not exactly the daring type.’    was that an insult?    rose was sensible enough not to do something daft.     like join the divination club;  which maude may have done briefly during her fourth year,   right up until the point that she started seeing trelawney in her nightmares.    a smug smile crossed maude’s face,     ‘ all you need to know is that,   after dealing with my mother,    a troll would be no match for me. ’ 

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFWIX:    dominique

Dominique had never been a very patient person; boredom was often quick to take over which is why she often got herself into trouble with her attitude. It seemed this situation would be no different as she watched the Slytherin dig through her papers. “That’s great for you, but I have more important things to worry about than a potions essay.” She grumbled, doing her best to keep her cool at the girls condescending tone. It wasn’t until her final comment that Dom gave a physical response, a long inhale as she rolled her eyes back, only opening her lids when she felt her chest begin to burn from holding her breath. “No. You see I don’t make it a habit to allow other students to check my work, especially with it’s always top notch. Do you want to go turn in this damn assignment or not? Cause the last thing I want to do is hover over this table for another ten minutes when you try to look for something.”

      eyeing her   acquaintance   cautiously,    maude hesitated.    had she come across as arrogant?    that wasn’t her intention.     though she didn’t even have to use her own impeccable intuition to answer that question.    dominique was a rather  visual  thinker.     whereas maude could go through every emotion under the sun   &   still remain blank-faced.    maybe that was a result of her mother always telling her to stop smiling.   ‘  just sayin’. ’    she grabbed hold of her own potions assignment,   expecting to be able to compare the two.    yet she found herself disappointed.   ‘  you don’t do collaborative assignments much do you? '   a smile spread across her face as she laughed lightly,    ‘  we’re supposed to work together.   plus i don’t want to put my name on something i haven’t read. ’      she outstretched her hand further,   ‘  trust issues;   comes with the  slytherin territory i’m afraid. ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFVICTORIEWEASLEY

“he is not weird, he’s really nice,” the brunette protested, shaking her head, “the longbottoms are family friends, but that’s not important now,” victoire waved off the fact despite speaking with a bright smile on her lips, “honestly, you’ll do great if you just give it a chance and otherwise you can ask someone to tutor you? there’s surely someone who’ll be able to help, or you can get your buddy partner from mcgonagall’s pet project to give you a hand, i mean you need to spend time together no matter what.”

         ‘  IF YOU SAY SO.  ’     maude didn’t plan on really getting to know him.    she already spent   way  too much time with slughorn as it was.    though when that man started talking,   he tended to go on for hours.      ‘  or i could just drop herbology,   if i hadn’t already. ’     her tone was slightly patronising.    why would anyone continue a class they’d failed?    masochism?  she rolled her eyes,   ‘  okay!   thanks for the tips -- but for future reference, some people just like to vent.    they’re not looking for a thousand solutions.  ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFWIX:    dominique

➣ @bvlstrodes

Dominique had just completed her portion of her potions assignment and she could only hope that Maude Bulstrode had done her own half; the last thing she needed was another assignment placed on her shoulders. The two had agreed to meet in the Great Hall, which is exactly where the blonde was headed. It seemed the sea of students parted as she walked past, many whispering about her as she slid through past the giant arch. Once her gaze had landed on the Slytherin female she made her way to the table and cautiously took a seat. “I’ve finally finished.”

         maude was situated at the far end of the slytherin table with various pieces of parchment scattered around her.    her face was propped up by her elbow with her right pinky nail in her mouth    (  such a dirty habit )   as her left hand contained her quill.    reaching the end of her sentence regarding ancient runes,    she looked up at the blonde,    ‘ finally! ’     she began searching through her mess for her own half,    not wanting to waste much time.    she could already feel people’s eyes on her questioning    why  she’d  be talking to    someone like dominique.       ‘ i finished mine three days ago--- ’      transfiguration,    alchemy... why couldn’t she be more organised?      her eyes located the one with the word   potions  scribbled at the top.    she reached forward,   holding out her hand to collect her partners,     ‘ give me yours   &  i’ll make sure it’s not awful. ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--TOBYLONGBOTTOM

In true Longbottom form, Toby had lost his toad. It happened every so often, and so far Wilber had always turned up again safe and sound. But that didn’t mean Toby wasn’t going to search for him. Having already checked the dorms and the common room he had taken to the hallways. He couldn’t have hopped too far, as far as toads went he was pretty lazy. Leaning over to check under a bench, he stood up and came face too face with another student. “You haven’t seen a toad around have you? He’s about yea high, a greeny brown colour and answers to Wilber.”

       this was to be a peculiar evening,    even by maude’s standards.      she hadn’t expected herself to be wandering round the school corridors with a handful of partially melted butter in a feeble attempt to draw out her own pet;    &   she definitely hadn’t expecting to find another doing the same thing   (   sans the butter  )     shaking her head,    maude looks at the boy   &  responds bluntly,     ‘  wilber’s a   terrible   name for a toad. ’       she didn’t recall him asking for her opinion on the name,    yet she gave it anyway.    sensing the hypocrisy she was about the commit,    she hesitated,  before finally asking a question of her own.    ‘  you haven’t seen a cat have you?  ---  she  answers to the name    CECIL .’ 

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFVICTORIEWEASLEY

standing victoire picked up the book that maude tossed away, amused smile on her lips, “you should give it a chance,” she insisted. “neville, i mean professor longbottom, would never do anything just for the sake of torturing a student, he only wants you to succeed to the best of your abilities and you might need a bit of a refresher regarding the basics that’s all.”

          ‘  I’VE GIVEN IT    four years of my life. ’       she spoke unamused,    referring to the time between the beginning of her second year   &   the end of her fifth.     though four years might be an exaggeration considering how many times she’d gotten   lost   on the way to the greenhouses during her second year.      her stubbornness had prevented her from asking the paintings for help.     ‘ neville ‘ey?     you’re on a first name basis with the  weird   herbology teacher?  ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFSCBERS 

Cassian scoffed at her response, rocking on his heels before leaning closer to her. “Careful, Bulstrode, we wouldn’t want any accidents to occur before the next game. It’d be a shame for you to have to sit it out.” The threat was anything but humorous, however he couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips as he spoke. 

       now would be a bad time to laugh,    is the only thing maude thought as the boy closed in on her like a wolf ---   once she’d swallowed the   tiny   bit of fear that was hidden so well,    she barely noticed it herself.     only an idiot   wouldn’t   be afraid of cassian.   in her mind he was both mad   &   stupid.     a deadly combination.        ‘  more like a  shame for  you. ’    she looks him straight in the eyes,      ‘   you know you can’t win without me --- if you didn’t,   i’d have already taken up a permanent residence in the hospital wing. ’

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--RCSEWEASLEYS

their friendship had never been easy for most to understand, and it was one she seldom spoke about at home during her breaks, because she knew while her mother may try to understand–there was no way her father would accept her being friends with someone in slytherin. he still held his prejudices quite high and it was partially one of the reasons she didn’t always get along with the man. “you can try–but i’ll just hex you,” rose teased, even if they both knew she wouldn’t it, at least not when maude wasn’t prepared for it. “trolls huh–i don’t want anything to do with those, thank you very much,” she gave the other a smile before shrugging. “at least not when i don’t have friend’s like mum did who ended up saving her from one in their bloody first year itself.”

        ‘  OH REALLY?  ’      she challenged her friend with an eyebrow raised,      almost as if she were asking for rose to do as she threatened.      who would win in that situation?      she pursed her lips as she thought about it.     for the sake of her own pride,    she’d rather not think about it.  '  you wouldn’t dare!  ’   she scoffed,    a smile forming on her lips.     she either knew rose too well   or   was simply being overconfident in their friendship.     a slytherin being overconfident?    sounded about right.      her thoughts shifted to trolls as the conversation continued.   ‘ i would  TOTALLY   save you from a troll. ’       she grinned arrogantly,   ‘ after all,    i’ve had personal experience dealing with them.  ’      aka:  her mother.

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--FROMLESTRANGE

     “you’re still taking herbology?” granted so was he, but surely for very different reasons. he only really found an interest in learning about the more dangerous types, though at least he was self-motivated enough to pass the entire course. otherwise it would’ve been dead weight that not even spite could have revived. “actually… let me rephrase: you’re still taking herbology, even after you failed your exam?”

        ‘   NO. ’     she stared back down at the book in her hands,    questioning whether she could find a use for it.   maybe there was a wobbly table someone that needed extra support.    should she have elaborated on her   one word answer?     this was probably the reason she failed the exam in question in the first place.    ‘  professor longbottom thinks i should just brush up on the basics in case i ever need to--- ’   she pauses thinking up a real life situation  ‘ ...plant flowers,   i guess ’     though she didn’t sound certain.

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--DECEIVABLEHOWL

“Oh?” There was a distinct hint of amusement playing on his features, but only those who knew him well enough would be able to see it. He was struggling to find the words to say that might be a comfort to Maude, seeing as Professor Longbottom seemed to be giving her a hint. For himself, he’d been studying advanced herbology for some time now. He didn’t like to brag, and yet he did think of himself as the best in the class. (Or near to the best. He would be the best soon, though. He’d have to be.) With a quick glance at her, he tried to conjure up some sort of reply. Should he apologize? No, no. He had nothing to apologize for, after all. Maybe joke about it with her? But what joke could he possibly make? After struggling for a good minute, he finally came up with, “Plants would probably hate you as well if you got a bad mark.” Shut up, Howl, he thought, then. So much for trying to not be awkward. 

      ‘  WHY WOULD THEY?  ’  she eyes the male with confusion.    taking his evidently light-hearted comment  more seriously than intended.      truthfully,    she was curious to see what other awkward response the gryffindor could muster.     unsure of whether to find in pitiful   or  amusing.    she settled on the latter.    ‘  i know slytherins have a rep for being  evil bastards but are we really that bad--- do the plants hate us too? ’     she could just about keep her lips from smiling.    it was a rather unfortunate thing maude had been cursed with,    the inability to conceal her glee.    every other emotion she could lock inside a box   &  hide from view,    except that one.     which meant keeping a strait face was difficult as she stifled a giggle,   ‘ i bet it’s because i dropped that mandrake on the floor in second year.  ’    a fabrication?   she wished.

[bvlstrodes-blog]

--OFVICTORIEWEASLEY

smiling softly victoire supressed a laugh, “i’m sure he doesn’t mean anything about it, professor longbottom doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body so i’m sure he is just trying to help you out with something you’re struggling with. all you need is a simpler explanation of the topic so you can move onto more detailed books after,” victoire declared.

    ‘  MORE DETAILED? ’   she raised an eyebrow,   as if she’d just heard the most ridiculous thing.  ‘ i don’t even want to read this. ’    &  she was pretty sure it was mostly pictures.    with a flick of her wrist,    she tossed the book aside.   maybe a first year would find is useful.    ‘  i’m certain he gave it to me as a form of torture --- it’s always the quiet ones that are the real sickos after all. ’