the great dragon heist [invite]

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Dahlia couldn't believe that she was going along with something like this. What did she care if the shop owners down in Hogsmeade were using a baby dragon to roast the nuts that they sold? She cared little for dragons aside from having a healthy respect for them and who was she to say how a shop owner was to make their money? But Selwyn seemed all bent out of shape over it and she always enjoyed being able to put her potions to the test. She hadn't been able to test her potion like this before so it would be good to make sure it would work as she intended. That was what had led her to agree to this crazy scheme. Even if it could get her expelled or even worse.

She did agree that the meeting to come up with a plan seemed like a good idea, though. After all, if they had things planned out then there were fewer chances that things could go sideways than if they just decided to wing it. So, she made her way to the head boy's dorm in the early evening hours so that they could get their acts together and figure out exactly how they were going to pull this off. She lifted one hand to knock on Thius' door in hopes that the other two would already be inside or that they would be along soon. Even if she wasn't so sure she wanted to face Selwyn again so soon after the announcement he had made just a short time ago. A huff left her as she stood there waiting. The nerve of him! But she knew that she couldn't think of that now. She had to try to have a clear head...

@Melanthius Burke @Bellona Lestrange @Comarth Selwyn

"Because if we're spotted together beforehand, any potential witnesses will come to the conclusion that we're involved, and our entire plan will be exposed. We have to behave as if everything is normal if the two of you are going to get away with sneaking out of Hogwarts. Therefore, if I don't see you two take the secret passage, it'd be less likely for me to be interrogated and thus have to rat you out if feigning ignorance doesn't work. I'm of the opinion sneaking out will be much easier than coming back in."

Thius rolled his eyes, having been of the assumption that the intent was blindingly obvious.

"It's called needing an alibi, Comarth. If you think it's about pouring hot oils, you're extremely wrong!"

Really, it was an excuse to see Bellona in her bathing suit again. Very chaste intentions.

@Comarth Selwyn @Dahlia Travers @Bellona Lestrange

Dahlia was relieved that Comarth was at least listening. Maybe she had underestimated him after she had caught him staring at her lap after his announcement earlier. Who could blame her though? She sighed when Comarth questioned their ‘friends’. ”They will have to be here to let us know the coast is clear when we sneak back in. If not we could do so right in front of a prefect or something.” she explained, even if it was very clear that she and Comarth would be the ones pulling the most of the weight where this was concerned but it didn’t really matter. There was nothing really beneficial that the two of them could do if they were to follow along.

@Melanthius Burke @Comarth Selwyn

"Right. Fine."

It wasn't completely fine, as he wanted to get out of the castle to be able to free the dragon. If they were caught before then, around that statue, and told to go back to their common rooms or something, it would put them in a difficult position to return again. Then again, Comarth wasn't really thinking of the consequences of returning after hours. Blast that he thought, as long as I have that dragon secured, I couldn't care one jot about receiving punishment.

Dahlia probably felt otherwise. Then again, she was risking it all in the first place, wasn't she?

"The only thing is if there's anyone in that area already. Perhaps it's not a popular place to 'hang out', but there could be Prefects around there already by this time. Curfew is under an hour away. Do you know which prefects are patrolling that area this evening, Melanthius?"

@Melanthius Burke @Dahlia Travers

"Well, I ensured that neither Estrada nor Jetson would be on patrol where it was going to stay dry," Thius began, hoping the plan would get over with soon enough. He wanted to take advantage of the time to spend it with his girlfriend. Who knew how long those two were going to take rescuing a baby dragon after all?

At least it won't be him and Bellona getting their hands dirty, risking the chance of being put on trial if they get caught outside of school grounds.

"In fact, I have them situated in the Forbidden Forest as there's a chance for rain tonight, so they won't be able to see the two of you in Hogsmeade from the side where patrolling typically happens. Your main hurdle will be getting into Honeydukes after closure. But if simple apparition works, then we only have the prefects to worry about. Send us a message when you're close to Hogsmeade on the way back, and we can figure out some sort of diversion for whoever is on third floor patrol duty. This time, Munroe did most of the assigning..."

@Dahlia Travers @Comarth Selwyn

Listening closely to everything that was being said, Bellona couldn't help but feel... excited. She knew that she wasn't going to be sneaking into Hogsmeade to do something that could potentially warrant an arrest, but the idea of it was getting her pulse rate up. For a moment she felt almost envious of Selwyn and Dahlia, but quickly shook herself from that notion. No, tonight she was going to be safe in the castle, with Melanthius.

"Vaulkley," she offered, when everyone had silenced once more. "I'll get him to make a diversion. He'll do it - I know he will. And if I pay him enough, I can keep him quiet about it too." The others may have been sceptical about this. Particularly Melanthius, who knew Vaulkley was known for his disloyalty. "Don't worry," she added to him now, "Ordinarily he may rat us out if someone paid him to, but he's different with me. I'm quite confident he won't want to get me into trouble, and thus - any of you." She looked pointedly between the group.

@Melanthius Burke @Dahlia Travers

Dahlia thought their plan was falling into place. The most difficult part would be avoiding all of the house elves and her parents when she apparated to her house. If any of them caught her, she was as good as dead. She would much rather be expelled than have to deal with her parents' consequences for such infractions. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that. She kind of dazed out, thinking of how wrong things could go while Comarth and Melanthius talked about the prefects and where they would be. She just hoped that they would be able to figure it out.

Then Bellona mentioned Vaulkley making a distraction and she crinkled her nose a bit. She didn't trust him at all and hated putting hers and Comarth's fate in his hands if he decided that someone else was a higher bidder when it came to information of why he had created the diversion. She frowned. "Do you really think we can count on him? He may have a soft spot for you but does that extend to Comarth and I since we're the ones with everything on the line, not you and Melanthius." Of course, she didn't expect them to jump into the thick of things. It was her potions that would make it possible and this whole scheme was Comarth's... But still, she didn't know if she could trust Vaulkley not to rat them out.

@Bellona Lestrange @Melanthius Burke

He listened to his girlfriend, appreciating each of her contributions to the plan no matter how small they may be. Of course, Thius was naturally skeptical of Vaulkley in general, even if he was capable of doing some truly noble acts.

"I agree with 'Ona, he is our best choice to help with the diversion this late into planning. If he fails to uphold his end, I'll ensure he deals with the consequences as it'll be the two of you taking the brunt of any punishment. If his diversion is executed successfully, I'll find a way to reward him that isn't monetary..."

There was no way he was ever giving Vaulkley hundreds of galleons like he was some clever panhandler. Summoning over his half-full cup of tea, Thius took a sip of it before sending it back over to the table.

"Babe, do you reckon Nightstar would prevent them from drawing attention when they sneak out?"

@Bellona Lestrange @Comarth Selwyn @Dahlia Travers

Comarth had gone elsewhere, thinking of the dragon. He vaguely digested the conversation about Vaulkley, but he didn't share Dahlia's scepticism. As Melanthius stated, there would be consequences. They had little to fear from that.

"I agree. Let's go with him."

That was about as much input as he was giving, apparently, as he stood to his feet and dusted himself off. The urgency of their plan was prominent in his mind, and he didn't want to wait around until everyone was ready. They would waste valuable time.

"I think we should take the grand staircase with everyone else. There will be a lot of movement at this time, so we should blend in. As soon as we're at the third floor, then we can draw off and cast the disillusionment charm."

He was talking to Dahlia, but wasn't looking at her. His eyes were determined and focused on the entryway.

@Melanthius Burke @Dahlia Travers

"So long as she isn't recognised," Bellona replied, ignoring Comarth's sudden itchiness to get going. "But we can't guarantee that. So perhaps they should go alone, like Selwyn said, then we can go afterwards."

@Melanthius Burke

"Yes, that would be wise. It might be smarter for the two of you to apply the disillusionment charm earlier in case someone happens to be going in the same direction..."

It was very much like Thius to try and consider every possible factor that could come in play. He was Head Boy, he didn't want to cause Headmaster Riddle any trouble. That was exactly why he wanted to make it harder for any potential witnesses to connect the dots. If they pulled this off successfully and Riddle didn't discover until much later, maybe he'd call all of them... That would be quite satisfying.

"Though, if necessary, I'm sure a light Confundus Charm would do the trick... Perhaps I'm overthinking that aspect. What do you think, Travers? We only have a limited amount of time left to finalize plans."

@Dahlia Travers @Bellona Lestrange @Comarth Selwyn

Dahlia listened to all of their ideas with a bit of a frown. She wasn’t even all that worried about getting out of the school. She was more worried about the fact that she would have to sneak into her home unseen by anyone then they would have to sneak around Hogsmeade as well. Getting out of school would be the easy part. ”I believe there is a tapestry nearby on the third floor. If we make it there then we can slip behind it with no one noticing and cast the charm. If someone does notice then we’ll have to get creative with a reason for hiding in the alcove behind the tapestry but we can figure that out when and if that happens.” she said.

It would work, right? If they were walking with others and the others kept walking then they could just slip away… if no one else went their direction then it would still be an easy spell to cast the charm without anyone seeing them. ”which is the best we’re going to come up with on such short notice, I think.” she said, giving her opinion on the matter, ready to get going.

@Melanthius Burke @Comarth Selwyn

"We'll keep contact. Are you coming, Dahlia?"

As soon as everything was wrapping up, Comarth was already heading for the door. Opening it slightly, he checked to see if the coast was clear. There was a first-year girl running past at that exact moment, being chased by Peeves pelting puffapod beans at her whilst chuckling. A miraculous diversion, it seemed.

"Clear."

He slipped out of the gap, and started down the corridor, expecting that Dahlia would reach him soon enough.

@Dahlia Travers

Dahlia scowled. "Of course, I'm coming. It's not like you'd get anywhere without me anyway." She said, not liking to be rushed despite the fact that she knew that they should be going as well. She just liked being in the lead, not being ordered about! Still, she stood from the seat she had been sitting in as Comarth gave the all clear then headed out into the hall. She took great pains to act normal as she walked through the halls, not wanting to draw any attention as she made her way to the stairs that would take them up to the statue they were seeking.

"Do you plan on apparating with me to my house or waiting for me at Hogsmeade?" She asked him in a hushed voice. He wasn't 17 yet unless she had missed his birthday, when even was it? So if he were to apparate with her then they would have to do side apparition. Either way didn't matter to her but she was curious.

@Comarth Selwyn

Thius glanced over at his girlfriend as Comarth and Dahlia quickly left them to go fetch that baby dragon.

Raising an eyebrow, he licked his lips and said, "Now that we have more time to ourselves, let's give them ten minutes then we can go to the prefects' bathroom..."

@Bellona Lestrange