Secret Corridor in the Dungeons

[I'm not changing my pictures on FB. So, you can drool at those!]

"What? You do?" Faye furrowed her brows. She felt like the friend in the group who was absent for the best inside joke. Her hands slipped into her back pockets and she shrugged, "Well, um. Why did Teddy do it then? Wait - no, don't answer that. He should tell me..." The thoughts in her head kept battling with one another, "Yeah. See you," She turned and walked down the corridor, towards the common room.

Regulus leans against the wall, fiddling with his hair as he so often did when he was troubled. He stays there a while lost in thought before heading down to the lake.

Regulus stomps down the corridor, getting even angrier when he finds it deserted. For some inexplicable reason Faye seemed to be the only person to ever help him sort things out, and he hadn't spoken a word about his problems at all to her, not really, anyway. He sank against the wall, hoping she'd come, and more importantly, hoping she'd have the cigarettes for him.

Faye walked down the hallway, thinking about the night before. She smiled to herself as her schoolbag swayed beside her, the contents of it being confidential. She hoped Regulus would be down there to pick up the merchandise. She wasn't in the mood to be carrying so many packs at one time. There was enough to hold Regulus over for at least two months. Her head perked up as she began calculating his level of addiction and she stopped in her tracks. He didn't look very happy, "Hey. You okay?"

Regulus breathed a sigh of relief as Faye approached. "No. I'm not bloody well okay. I got into another fight with Cormac. ANOTHER ONE!" he yells, punching the wall, but not so hard as to break his hand or anything like some idiots with greasy hair.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry," She winced when he slammed his fist against the walls. For some reason, boys seemed to find punching inanimate objects meant to hold up ceilings as a way to let off steam, "I've got something that may cheer you up though," She opened her schoolbag and pulled out the packs of cigarettes one by one.

Regulus could have kissed her, and he's gay. [Yes, James, just for you. I still won't delete the text because I fall over laughing every time I read it.] He settled for offering her a genuine smile, and a sincere, "Thank you," he said, gratefully tossing them all into his own bag, and opening a box for now. He pulls out one and lights it, shoving the open box into the pocket of his robes. "How're you?"

"Eh, fine," Faye returned the smile and pulled out her own pack, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with her wand. She took a drag, thinking about Scorpius, but made sure not to mention anything. She didn't want to brag about how well things were going for her, when things weren't sunny in Regulusville, "Always could be better, but I'm glad it's not worse. Same ol' thing."

[lol regulusville...]

Regulus sighed. "I guess it could be worse," he mumbled. He could have tried something again, after all. Regulus took a long drag and closed his eyes, still having no clue how to deal with it.

"If it does get worse, there's the cigarettes to help ease the pain," Faye grinned and took another drag, exhaling the smoke up towards the ceiling, "It's a good system."

"I agree wholeheartedly," he said, taking another drag and looking at her. "How do you women deal, honestly? We men are so confusing," he muttered.

"I don't think we ever do put up with it. At least, not entirely," Faye laughed and let her arm fall to her side, contemplating, "We tend to put up with their antics and, when it gets to be too much to bear, we crack.

"Right..." he said, wondering would happen if he cracked, given that he's already beaten up Cormac a few times now. "I talked to Scorpius, by the way," he said, remembering that awful awkward encounter during which both of them were trying not to think about seeing the other naked again.

"Oh, really?" Faye lit up at the mention of Scorpius. She didn't want to look overeager to hear about the conversation and she immediately cleared her throat, turning slightly pink, "Um. What did you two talk about?"

"Not much. Just made sure he knew there was nothing going on between us. Didn't take any convincing, really, he trusts you," he says with a half smile.

"That's good. I was worried that what Teddy said to him...well, I thought it might make him change his mind," Faye muttered, bringing the cigarette back to her lips, "I've messed up enough times in the past. It's a miracle he still trusts me."

"I somehow don't see Teddy becoming a problem for you," he said darkly, his hand twitching towards the pocket with his wand. "Somebody should tell him where his place is."

"I haven't spoken to him since last time we were down here," Faye sighed, remembering what Scorpius had told her in the common room, "I already have an idea of what he was hiding that day. I don't want to lose him as a friend, even if he did make some mistakes."

"Well then, he just better not make any more mistakes," he said simply, taking another drag and running his hand through his hair, focusing on not-focusing on Cormac.

"I hope he doesn't. I can't handle any more drama in my life," Faye joked and took another drag from her cigarette. She thought about Scorpius and his disapproval of her smoking. Maybe, not in the near-future, but some time, she would stop.

"True that," he muttered, thinking about the immense amount of drama being caused by the many men in his life at the moment. Gellert, Cormac, Viktor... why can't they all just get along? Sit around the campfire singing Kumbaya. Sounds good to me. "What is it about this place? I always feel better down here... even without these," he said, holding up the cigarette.

[ELISE STOP FORGETTING ABOUT THIS THREAD]

[Ugh. I had a good response to this just now, and it got deleted. I'm mad at my Mac!]

"That's a question I have yet to answer, honestly," Faye muttered, taking the scene around them in. The darkened, slimy walls that they leaned upon and the cold floors beneath their feet. It all seemed disgusting when others talked about it..."I think the main reason is simple. Up there," She gestured up towards the ceiling, where quiet footsteps were heard, "They make the castle beautiful and for the students who are content or happy with their status quo. Down here, it reflects what people actually feel. Dark and cold," Faye paused, "Occasionally accompanied with dim lighting," she added, thinking about Crabbe and Goyle.

Regulus laughed at the last remark. "I do believe you're right, honestly," he said, looking around the area. "Far more accurate representation of life for some of us, some days." Regulus looked at Faye, wondering what it was about her that made it impossible for Reg to hate her, no matter how hard he tried. He stared at her curiously, wondering why she even let him hang around her. "Why the hell do you let me stick around you down here?" he asked rather abruptly.

"Oh, thanks," She remembered Scorpius' comment the previous night and almost laughed. Her gaze returned to the walls of the corridor, watching a small spider find its way to a crack in the wall. Everything down here seemed more real than the places above. All of the laughter and smiles seemed to be an image, hiding these corridors. Too bad people are the same way. Hiding the worst part of them. She looked over at Regulus, taken aback, "I don't know. It's not my place to tell people where they can or can't be. Plus, you aren't calling me mudblood anymore, so it's not like I'm receiving any trouble."