[Written in collaboration with @adallegra 🎃 Slytherin dorms, right after the Polyjuice Potion mishap but before all the other rps.]
Allegra is sitting in her dorm room, for once free from all the hustle and bustle of the Halloween activity and social interactions, when suddenly there is a knock on the door and a quiet couple of honks that sound suspiciously like somebody honking out her name. The knocking itself is also rather familiar to her: the rhythm is the one William insists on using whenever he is about to enter the girls' room. "In emergencies as a prefect, of course," he'd say, and then often sneak in for some gossip that can't wait for any other kind of meeting.
“I told you, Will, I’m not going,” Allegra calls out.
Did Will come with Nosy in hand to try and convince her to join again? Didn't Allegra make it clear to him very early on that she is not interested in drinking any Polyjuice potions and that Will should just go enjoy the evening? Didn't Will begrudgingly but agree, promising to share all the latest news when Halloween is over?
Allegra glances at the clock on her desk. It hasn’t even been that long, but trust Will to keep trying even if she already said no. She steels herself against the combination of Will and Nosy's pleading expressions. One of them, she can still firmly refuse to, but both? She reaches for the pouch of premium niffler treats she keeps in her desk drawer, ready to distract Nosy if it comes to it.
Before she could reply to more knocks, she hears sad honk sounds from the other side of the door, and then a sniffle. And then a few more as the knock repeats itself, weakly as if the dying man is standing on the other side. Merlin, is Will pretending to cry in his last-ditch attempt at convincing her? He hasn’t done that since… actually it hasn’t been that long ago. Allegra’s mind flits to a certain sticky toffee pudding she never got to finish.
Time to dance around the issue for a little bit and send Will back on his merry way to the party: surely he doesn't want to miss a chance to prefect around when somebody inevitably starts playing pranks on people?
She grabs her wand from the table and flicks it at the door which opens to reveal, not Will and Nosy, but Will and Nosy. Her jaw drops. Immediately, she presses a hand to her mouth because it’s clear to her that William is distraught. But her shoulders shake in uncontrollable silent laughter at the Will-Nosy hybrid standing in her doorway. Allegra stands, snatches the bag of treats off her desk and holds it out to her friend but instantly doubles over, laughing in earnest.
Wiping tears from her eyes, she manages, "At least you're not a dugbog, right?"
William starts crying even louder.
She takes a deep, calming breath, and goes to pull William into a hug, keeping the comment about how soft his fur is to herself.
“Silver linings and all, perhaps you’ll have a better grasp of niffler parenting techniques after this?"
Through the tears and sobs, a honk of a snort sounds from somewhere around her shoulder. And then — a crunch of the bag with treats.
[William had to come back to the Slytherin dorms to change right after the incident. Elland hadn't taken the potion just yet and he was worried, so he accompanied Will to the entrance and ended up waiting outside to see Will to the Medical Wing later, too. As a muggle-born, Els didn't find the situation funny at all, not with Will barely holding back the tears.
It's a good thing the ballroom was in the dungeons. Will needed to let go a little, so he stopped by Allegra's room where he knew nobody else would be at this time. Her laughing did actually make him feel better, surprisingly. Firstly, it was great to hear Allegra laugh that much and so earnestly. Will felt a bit proud of that! And secondly, it helped him loosen up. Yes, he cried and cried, but if Allegra found it funny, then it must be. Too bad Will couldn't really speak properly at that moment.
It didn't help that for a while Will felt like Allegra was slowly slipping away from him. Will is busy with classes, homework, prefect duties, Quidditch, and splitting his time between Allegra and Monty. He should find more opportunities to hang out with her. Monty is likely to be staying with Will and his family after they graduate, but Allegra? They definitely need more time before graduation. When else is he going to hear her laugh like that? Oh, what's that? He's eating niffler treats? Hah, honk, good one, Allegra, surely he hasn't lost him min— HONK HONK???
When he left the dorms, he felt much better. Good enough to ease Elland's worry and for Will to presentably make it to the Hospital Wing. Of course, he cried again when Mrs. Blainey told him that he just needed to wait it out naturally for a week or two. The speaking spell was cast, and Elland spent another 10 minutes calming Will down. He would have to come back the next day to properly learn the incantation to help Will whenever the spell wears off. Els ended up keeping an eye on William for the rest of the evening after his own Polyjuice wore off.]
I really really don’t want to talk about the differences in willy’s Summer Looks from last year to this year and how wildly contrasting those looks are. I promise I don’t. And I wish my brain would stop thinking about them !!
Villiam, you and your "roommate" didn't show up to the duel last night. Care to pay the debt for the two of you? And nice of you to keep the costume! I'd almost feel bad to singe that teal fur.
I think I shall pass, Lilith... I mean, what roommate? What duel? Haha, don't you know duels are not allowed? Silly Lilith.
Nilliam more or less came back to his normal state half way through the evening. It didn't take much, past the reassurances from his friends that he'd make a really nice niffler and that the teal colour really brough out his eyes. It almost made up for how uncomfortably warm he felt most of the time, but who knew, perhaps he wouldn't be freezing as much outside on the windy autumn days?
A few strict remarks towards Asani and Cyrus (they better not be doing anything funny if they don't want a detention again), letting Fred out of the cupboard he was locked into twice (Fred, honestly, this is more pathetic than usual), having a verbal confrontation with Cassandra over whose costume is better (Will's, of course, it looks so natural) — all of it got the prefect's spirits high enough to enjoy himself despite his predicament. And then he spotted him.
The prettiest boy in the room. The best hair, the smoothest skin, the impeccable smile. Looking smart, acting smart, being smart — there is only one student who inhabits all of those qualities, and it's him — William Abbott. Nilliam honks in surprise at how good he apparently looks from a distance. Albeit, this one was somewhat a little shy... Why, they only needed some pointers on how to reach perfection, that was the truth of the matter!
Nilliam strolled down to whoever was lucky enough to drink the Polyjuice potion with his ginger hair.
"If I may, my dear sir, I look best if you part my hair just like this," he pointed out and started rearraging "William"'s hair with practiced ease. "You charm it just so, enough that it stays in place and doesn't curl as much. And straighen out! You'll seem and feel taller than you actually are! It would've worked better if your shoes had a slight heel to them,like mine do, see? And also, …"
Whoever took on the role of the prettiest prefect tonight, didn't protest, and Will liked that. What a good student, they must show that there is pride in being a Slytherin, and that William Abbott is as good as they get! Perhaps a little less stuttering, my friend... Oh, you need a parchment to write this all down? How studious!
"I'm glad you don't seem as shocked as when I first addressed you! Now, now, less scrambling and more dignity! I wonder if my calligraphy skills and muscle memory were transferred onto you as well."
The student did indeed get some confidence with Will's helpful lecturing as they started reaching out towards Nilliam to— Oh. Oh, of course they wanted to touch his hair, didn't they. What is it with the Hogwarts student population? They see something fluffy and they just have to— Oh, no? No petting my hair? Hmpf. Alright. Not good niffler etiquette, to touch without asking? Perhaps, perhaps. That's right, this "William" has prefect duties to attend to! Not time for... pat patting. Not even a little. Sigh.
Someone deleted the old Bilco account so I made a new identical one. Same email, password, and name. Once you have logged into this, follow your own account using this one so that we know you have been informed. Send me a dm if you want the password and email...
