WELCOME

[Kevin Crowe]

There were times when Kevin was glad that the UK had a lower drinking age than the US. Because the one thing he needed right about now was a very strong drink, especially how complicated his life had gotten. Things had started off simply enough - distract Joyce Zabini-Bones while Tricia worked her charm on Robert Davies. It would allow him to hone his own charm and get him his sister's pocket money and was therefore a win-win situation. Unfortunately he hadn't reckoned on just how damn shy and retiring Joyce was and a certain witch in the sixth year. Robert being an utter blockhead had been accounted for, but the girl problems were practically begging Kevin to get completely and utterly trashed. Of course there was a pressing problem in the fact that the headmistress, despite being a Scotswoman, had gone out of her way to make sure that the students were unable to procure any liquors inside the school - not even the House Elves were allowed to procure it for them.

The old answer to the elves not being able to provide alcohol was of course getting it from Hogsmeade. Unfortunately that path was also thwarted due to Renna Cross and Scorpius Malfoy getting flung sent through the protective enchantments on the school and into the village. Naturally the adults weren't going to send anyone into the little town until they had either figured out what had gone wrong or at least how to prevent it again. Which meant that once more Renna Cross had thrown a snarfflepod into the well oiled machine of his life. First she had simply pranked him and now she was just down right distracting with her blonde bob and her sexy swagger and of course the ever present threat of death by sword, but that was really of little matter. Then there was the matter of snogging her - much more intense than any kisses laid on Joyce so far which fed into problem two - Joyce and Robert. Tricia's so called grand plan had stalled since neither person in question was swooning over the required Crowe. Kevin was sure Tricia had done everything short of dancing like a showgirl to hint that she was prettier, wittier and a far better prospect than Joyce and the idiot of a Ravenclaw was still making sheep eyes at the Hufflepuff when he thought no one was looking. As for Joyce it seemed the more he advanced, the more she shied away. Which made no sense to him - judging from Renna's reactions, his kisses were not something to make a girl run away from.

With a groan of frustration, Kevin stretched backwards on the not quite broken in leather couch (a replacement for the one that had vanished in December) and then returned to his original slouched position on the one arm, staring blankly into the fire. Between Malloy reminding him that he was approaching the cusp of academic standing that would get him kicked off the quidditch team, the weird accidents and the current "Girl Problem" something was going to give and Kevin did not want it to be his sanity. Unfortunately such a prospect was bound to be likely, though that was not something he wanted to share with whomever was plodding over towards the couches - including the one he was slouched on - by the fire. "The only way you can sit here is if you have booze or a really good spell for either turning juice into alcohol or procuring some." he remarked acidly to the person who seemed ready to choose the area by the fireplace which he meant to stake out for himself that evening.

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Certainly there were advantages to being rather liked by Malloy but there were also disadvantages this was one of those times. Malloy had informed him that one of his housemates was struggling with potions and that he needed a bit of an extra boost particularly if Slytherin was to do well in the coming quidditch matches. It wasn't like there were many but Malloy wanted to be certain. Scorpius nodded and took on the assignment that was given him and it was Crowe.

With a tired sigh Scorpius entered to common room and found his assignment lounging at the fire. He approached and gave a harsh laugh at the younger year. "That won't help you much," answered Scorpius taking a casual seat near the younger year with out an offer of booze. A drink would not be bad but access was rather quite limited particularly in those days seeing as Hogsmeade was barred from them. Really his and Cross' trip there was not cause for that it was that freak girl creature. Hogsmeade was perfectly fine and safe the freak girl thing was the problem. But really Scorpius had no control and could not get people to really believe him on any of it. There still seemed to be blame on him for things though really he was vanished away with out his wand. But because he vanished and got out some people were even more convinced. It was a load of rubbish really.

"I'm told you are having trouble with potions," He remarked putting his feet up on the table making himself comfortable. Crowe honestly was not going to keep the whole fireplace too himself. These were considered the best seats in the house and though Scorpius was not overly fond of the extreme warmth that the fire set forth Scorpius was not going to be denied the best in the house, it was just his way and who he was.

Scorpius did not really have issue with Crowe but he was not going to let the younger year have control of the common room. Crowe could be alright in his own way but really they had not socialized much but alas there was a first time for everything and Scorpius was requested to tutor the boy. Though if Crowe refused to accept his assistance then there was nothing for it and Scorpius was not going to push the matter really it was Crowe's responsibility to get the grades he needed and though Malloy might want to see the Slytherin's succeed in quidditch Malfoy was not as concerned. He routed for his house team and attended matches but he did not live and die by the results of the sport like others did.

[Kevin Crowe]

When Kevin turned he realized that the speaker was Scorpius Malfoy, one of the prefects and in the year ahead of him. Normally Kevin didn't worry about the identities of the older students however Scorpius fit one of the two exceptions. After all it was good to "know the enemy" when it came to quidditch but it also didn't hurt to know who the prefects were - especially since one never knew when a "friend" in high places was needed. Especially since Kevin had a tendency to answer the call of his stomach at odd hours of the day, some of which fell outside of curfew, and a bit of a relaxed attitude with a few of the rules that he found to be rather stupid. All in all Scorpius wasn't too bad - he wasn't the ideal Slytherin prefect - blatantly favouring or turning blind eyes to Slytherin indiscretions - but he wasn't as wedded to the rules as Aubrey or the three Weasleys and tended to give warnings rather than detentions if it was just him.

As the prefect in question sat on one of the couches near him and declined to offer any sort of alcohol, Kevin quirked an eyebrow. "I don't care if it wouldn't help me right now, the way things are going it certainly couldn't hurt." He was about to add to his little remark with something along the lines of "And I don't care if you're a prefect, if you don't have booze, you can't sit here." when Scorpius mentioned his recent academic issue with potions/ "Merlin's pants, does the whole school know about this?" he asked sullenly. Normally Kevin did quite well in Malloy's class but recent events - and a red haired little devil named Lily Potter - had caused his performance to take a downswing. Combined with his transfiguration and herbology grades he was apparently nearing the border of the headmistress' stupid academic regulations for quidditch players; as he had been told by Malloy the previous afternoon. That's when he remembered something else - during the lecture Malloy had told him he would be assigning an older student to double check his next couple of assignments.

"Look, I don't care what Malloy told you about my Potions grade but I can tell you that it's not entirely my fault." he got out, not caring how lame the excuse sounded. "It's Malloy's class after all. But honestly, how well do you think your potions grade would stay after getting partnered with that stupid little," - quickly he paused to make sure the brother of the person he was about to insult was not in earshot - "Pipsqueak Lily Potter. Not only did she blow up a potion on me, she slimed all my notes for the last three weeks. If she wasn't a girl with a vengeful older brother I would have killed her with my bare hands." To say that Kevin had been pissed at that little incident would be an understatement. Sure Lily had gotten a detention over the exploding potion, but Kevin had still lost enough points to drop a grade...and he had not been able to wheedle notes off of anyone else. And Tricia had declined to help him since progress had been way too slow - in her opinion - on the Joyce front. "Really the real help would be tips on how to get rid of her without getting a one way ticket to Azkaban."

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius only half listened to what Kevin had to say. He didn't really care for the ranting and complaining the younger year was giving him. Was he really that pathetic? Killing Potter with his bare hands Scorpius was having doubts about the boy's claims. If it weren't for the fact that Malloy had told him to do this and that the 5th year had a form of talent on the quidditch field Scopius would most likely have made a remark about how the boy was out of luck and he'd see him around.

"Malloy wants you staying on the pitch, only reason why I know anything really and the only reason I am actually acting like I care here," spoke Scorpius going straight to the point. He hoped it might keep Crowe from giving another sob story about how horrid his life was.

"Now, I'll admit Potter is a problem in her own right but not enough to cause the grades I'm told you have, and trust me strangling isn't the way to go, brothers aside she has her own ways. Potter aside the first stupid mistake on your part was not getting notes from someone else. Honestly how thick can you get? You're the only one taking notes in class?" Scorpius shook his head and glanced over at the young beater. He was not gilding his word in the slightest and he wasn't going to. There was no reason for him to play up to this bloke, and if he wasn't man enough to deal with things then Crowe could leave and Scorpius job would be done all the sooner. He didn't care, Scorpius had no problem going to Malloy and stating how Crowe wouldn't listen and deserved the grades he got despite the effects it would have on the team. Really they couldn't be worse than Wood and the Gryffindor team.

"Next I'll talk to Malloy about Potter though I'm sure he's aware of her and what she is capable of. Next play dirty back ruin a batch of her work. Really you are a Slytherin aren't you? She's on the Gryffindor team she can get kicked off as well. Of course you can't make a failing team much worse than what it is, but it's a start. So are you going to stop whining and making excused about your grades in potions or are you going to man up take a failure on your part and fix the problem. I don't mind helping you with potions, much but I'm not going to lift a finger if all you are going to do is act like a poor ignorant child who can't hold his wand correctly. So which is it?" asked Scorpius looking directly at Crowe waiting for his response.

[Kevin Crowe]

"Malloy just wants us to win to prevent Professor Longbottom doing some kind of victory chant around the staff room again so. Either that or he's looking for an excuse to give the headmistress a heart attack and take over the school by snogging the hell out of Winchester in front of a crowd." Kevin commented acidly. Though the potions master certainly had a bit of a bias towards his own house - which of the teachers didn't when it came down to it? - he certainly didn't really seem to care about them individually or about quidditch. It was an open secret after all that the man wanted the top job in the school and would probably do anything to get it. As for the snogging another professor...well not many could fault the man's taste; Kevin himself thought that though the Care of Magical Creatures teacher was too old for him, she certainly wasn't bad looking. Starting to think I should have signed up for that class after all... he considered.

As the boy listened to Malfoy offer his two knuts worth on Potter, Kevin narrowed his eyes, but only half out of irritation. There was something about the prefect that he couldn't quite pin down, but Kevin was almost sure the other boy wasn't as angry or annoyed with the Potter girl as he was trying to sound. "Well first off there's no way I'd ask any of the Gryffindorks for their notes. As to our housemates...Carmichael's writing is microscopic which renders his completely useless - and attempts at charming them bigger don't work, I've already tried - with everyone else's is in bits and pieces. What I have actually attempted to put together from everything doesn't feel right. However the central issue isn't really notes it's in class performance which is why I have no idea why the hell you are here. Especially since you sound like you'd rather be in the middle of Gryffindor Tower without a wand right now. Unless this is some part of a bid to securing the Head Boy position. Rumour has it that it will be a bit trickier to get; one can hardly ask dear old dad or grandfather to make a bribe when one of the boys in the running is the son of a professor and the other related to a war hero."

It would certainly be an interesting race to watch. From all accounts the Head Girl position was pretty much locked in; Goyle didn't have the brains and the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls were both quiet as mice. The Weasley girl would probably assume work ethic got her the spot but really, it was going to be by default. Wonder who would follow next year's pair? he wondered. Probably Carmichael and Lucy Weasley. A good match since they both have a stick up their ass. It'll make seventh year dull though. Things might have been different if he had actually applied himself to make prefect; it would have been nice to get the badge but Kevin knew he would have definitely taken advantage of it. Of course when the thing hadn't come it hadn't been that big of a deal; his mother hadn't been a prefect at the Salem Academy didn't have them. It wasn't like some families where the pressure was crazy like a couple of the Weasley branches. Particularly the branch Adrian and Lucy belonged to.

He was about to ruminate further when Malfoy's words registered. Instantly Kevin revised his earlier opinion of the prefect; he'd rather take Adrian Weasley over this. "As Malloy was already kind enough to remind me, Lily's punishments pertaining to her own quidditch standing lie with Professor Longbottom. You tell me if that's going to result in her getting kicked off, no matter how much their team is starting to really implode right now. Secondly there is quite the difference between whining and needing to rant and blow off steam. Unlike you who simply shoves the stick father up your ass, some people just vent to clear their heads. I'm one of them." Standing and pulling himself up to his full height - which he suddenly realized was only slightly more than Malfoy's height -he quipped "And I really don't have to listen to you pretending you're better than I am. Sure you have academic records to be envied but at least I don't have the taint of 'Death Eater' hanging over me. Besides," HIs mind flahed back to the mystery letters he'd received a few weeks back. "Marks aren't the be all and end all. Connections and family reputation come into play to. If I'm applying for something that doesn't need Potions or Herbology they'll look at me, not marks from my fifth year now will they. But you? You could finally topple that Weasley girl but all anyone is going to see is your surname and its connotations. So go see if you can finally get into Goyle's knickers. You don't want to be here and quite frankly I don't think I want you here either." And with that, Kevin gathered his robes and stormed off. Need that drink more than ever now.

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Quite a bit of Crowe's words could have easily been shoved off as him being an annoying overly pampered little child and Scorpius could ignore it, despite how annoying it was. Wasn't the belief that only children of affluent families turned out as Crowe and those with siblings actually had something of a backbone? If that belief were true then the roles between them should have been switched. Maybe it had something to do with Crowe's American upbringing? It didn't matter Scorpius knew how to handle himself and fight for what was worth fighting for while Crowe would sit and whine about his life. Venting and whining were two different things and really Crowe was whining but that was really beside the point and not exactly something Scorpius wanted to argue. He did not feel the need to educate Kevin on the definitions particularly when there were bigger fish to fry with this young lad.

He was walking on thin ice as he mentioned his family making bribes to get things. Scorpius' expression immediately darkened and he quietly cracked his knuckles. He had not bribed his way into anything. Certainly his name did hold weight with some families but that was different from a bribe he had done nothing of the sort particularly not at Hogwarts his family didn't have the clout over the school as they once had his grandfather was no longer a school governor and his father had no interest in it, he was far too busy with his work at the Ministry anyway. Scorpius might have been inclined to tell Crowe that he had better watch his words but the prat decided to continue forward head long right into a very icy grave, particularly at the mention of 'Death Eater' there were no more vile words to use toward Scorpius than those. He accepted and allowed certain negative connotations that came with his name to pass on by and certain ones he even prided himself on but 'Death Eater' was one that he would not permit. He knew his family history he knew it wasn't spotless and that the actions of his grandfather and father were not the best but those ways had pretty much been renounced. He grandfather still held true to some of the concepts that Death Eaters stood for but his father had been young and susceptible, it didn't excuse his actions but he had renounced the ways and he and his grandfather had paid for their crimes. He himself had no part in that and upheld the family honor. Growing up it had been placed on his shoulders to keep the family name from falling any further from grace.

The moment Kevin got up to leave Scorpius pulled out his wand and waved it without a moment of hesitation. He wanted to curse the Crowe boy he wanted to show him 'Death Eater' and what he was truly dealing with but Scorpius resisted. He had an honor to up hold and knew that by cursing the younger boy into an oblivion would only prove his point and Scorpius wanted none of that. He had at least enough whits for that but he was not going to let him just get away with that, thus the curse Scorpius threw was nothing more than a leg locker curse which caused the boy to stumble. He caught himself which was unfortunate from Scorpius' perspective but he took the moment to get close to the boy and attempt to grab him by his shirt front so he could make his words clear and known.

"Never use those words in relation to me ever again. Despite what you may think my name stands for so much more than you can imagine boy, while your name means what? Nothing! Believe me when I say I can curse you in the most unpleasant of ways. I haven't, simply to prove a point. So think carefully before you speak again about me and my family, you insufferable jarvey."

[Kevin Crowe]

As he was stalking off to go rage in private, Kevin felt something connect with the back of his left knee. No sooner had he registered the hit when both knees locked together, pulling Kevin towards the floor. Thankfully there was a couch nearby and he was able to make a grab to keep from falling on his ass in an undignified heap. "You little bastard." he yelled out, fishing into his pocket for his wand. While he was certainly angry at the prefect for striking him from behind - a tactic Kevin would use himself - he was more upset about the fact that he had not been expecting some sort of response like that after his words before he started to take off. Idiot. You know full well you were trying to piss him off, next time have one of those Shield Charms - or shirts - ready.

With a wave of his wand, Kevin snarled out the incantation for the Jelly Legs Jinx, giving his desire for revenge priority over his locked legs. However once the first and second (the furnunculus curse) were fired in quick succession, Kevin ducked behind the couch and turned his attention to his locked legs. Damnit! What's the counter? 'Liber' at the beginning? He thought he saw another bolt go over his head, causing him to try and fit his 6'1 frame behind the puny love seat. "Liberacorpus" he muttered, pointing his wand at his knees. The spell worked - thankfully - which allowed for a better crouching angle however he must have done something with the motion because now there were identical tears in his pants at the knee. Fix that later. "You're aim sucks Malfoy!" he taunted. "Lucky shot notwithstanding, though I'm not just talking about your magic. And my name holds a lot more worth than you think. Just because its not old and English, its never been tainted by choosing the wrong side in a war. Yours has done that, what? Twice now? You're not as grand as you think."

It probably wasn't safe to be issuing fresh taunts at someone older and therefore with more spell knowledge than him. In fact on a scale of one to Renna Cross it was in between Lily with joke items and Tricia with PMS. Actually probably lower than that. Tricia can be far scarier... (Probably not the best time to be thinking of that but it was amazing where one's brain went during a crisis or event.) Not that Kevin cared - he didn't appreciate the dig at his family name any more than Scorpius had his. Holding his wand aloft and ready for the next spell, Kevin cautiously emerged from behind the couch with as much dignity as he could. Bracing his foot to the side in case he needed to jump out of the way - he wouldn't put it past Scorpius to fire off another spell - he reiterated "Yeah, yeah we all quiver in fear of the great and terrible Malfoy, heir of the Dark Lord's power. Prove your damn point, whatever helps you sleep at night but just remember if I say such to your face now, ten more will say it behind your back, now and down the road when you're trying to make your way in the world. The rest of us won't have that baggage around our necks."

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Mistake number one, underestimating your opponent. Scorpius did get a form of satisfaction from getting Kevin and attempting to tell him what for but he did not expect the blithering idiot to fire a jinx back so quickly. Scorpius lost control of his legs but threw up a shield charm with a swift and decisive motion, which was just in time as another curse came firing his way. Instead of focusing on his legs Scorpius tired to fire a retaliation to the boy who was barely behind the chair but lost his balance and went down as well behind the couch that had been next to when he fired the first spell.

Scorpius let out a harsh curse to himself as he waved his wand to fix his legs, Kevin's words incensing him all the more. Point be damned he was going to destroy Crowe in every way possible.

"Oh that's right, you hold onto a pathetic American name!" tired to dig Scorpius. "Don't be so sure your family would remain so clean if you had been here!" At this point Scorpius gave up defending his own name. With a wave of his wand he sent a blasting curse that did not his the other Slythering who was cowering behind a chair. It was close though as far as he could tell as it damaged the chair on the side. Damn!

"Sleeping is not a problem for me Crowe, though I'm sure your roommates would appreciate a lot less crying and wining from you at night!" He appeared around the corner of the sofa and threw another curse (gouging spell) just dodging another one himself. He wanted heir to the Dark Lord that was what Crowe was going to get. Clearly his actions had already caused a younger year to run in fright. It wasn't Scorpius' attention to scare the younger years he just wanted to Crowe to suffer and suffer greatly. It didn't matter what people thought or said behind his back it was what they said and did to his face, and that was supposed to be respect as his name, before Dark Lords and Deatheaters, had held and deserved. Crowe was American and would never amount to much. Scorpius decided there was no way he was going to get his target as long as he crouched and cowered behind the chair and Scorpius tried to use that knowledge to his advantage by eliminating the cover Crowe had taken. He used the knock back jinx to not only get the chair out of the way but to also possibly hit his opponent in the process.

[NPC!]

Gerard Malloy

He was really staring to think that the students in his house had it out for him. First it was Potter sleeping on a transported couch in the staffroom when he blundered in in desperate need of a morning pick me up then it was Kuval Prasard interrupting a make out session to announce that the Slytherin Common Room was underwater. And now someone was banging on his office door with a panicked cry of "Professor! Come quick!" With a mournful look at the nice bottle of oak matured mead he'd bought last week for tonight's private dinner with Sofie, Gerard stalked across his office and opened the door. Someone better be dying. he snarled to himself. Or the bloody building better be on fire. In the doorway, looking like she had just run for her life was first year Kestrel Matherson. That immediately worried the man since he knew Kestrel didn't scare easily - proved both in his classroom and in several of the incidents.

The story he managed to get out of the girl was not one of fires or death...but it was close. Duelling. Duelling. In the bloody common room. I thought they were better behaved than this. What was even more shocking was the revelation of who was involved. Crowe wasn't too much of a surprise - he was one of those boys who thought brawn trumped brains and if it couldn't be solved with fists, he'd leave. Scorpius Malfoy on the other hand was a big shock. Gerry had thought that a boy who was too self concious of his family's reputation would keep his nose clean but apparently not. I'll have to handle this quietly so Minerva doesn't hear about this. the man reflected. I can't have her promote two of her favourites for the head students next year. Still I though Malfoy was smarter than this. "Let's go Matherson. And stop sniffling." Perhaps too harsh a statement, but Gerard knew his students, perhaps better than anyone realized. Matherson hated references to weakness and would immediately do everything she could to look strong. Something which probably came from being the oldest - and he knew the feeling.

Thankfully the Slytherin common room wasn't all that far from his office - he'd hate to be the head of the other houses since their offices were half a castle away in some cases. In a curt tone he uttered the current password to the hidden wall and stepped inside. Immediately he could see flashes of light; Malfoy had his back to the common room door and was aiming at an upturned couch which periodically produced Crowe's head or wand arm. They must have been trading barbs as well as spells since Malfoy was yelling at the tufts of Crowe's hair. The whole situation would have been quite amusing except the spells were bouncing off the wall and the furniture. Which he had just repaired. After just replacing them. "Finite Incantateum!" he yelled, causing the two newest spells to fizzle out and die. "That is enough! Both of you! 50 points from Slytherin and detention next Saturday." he glowered, belatedly realizing he had planned a nice excursion with Sofie that evening. "Malfoy you will serve yours with Professor Longbottom and Crowe you will serve yours with Professor Blith. Now clean up this mess - without magic - and get to your dorms."