[Corridors] Better Lost than Found

[Felicity Locke]

Today was just one of those days. The one where the sky was dreary and grey, and all the students seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason or another. These days were the worst, because if someone even looked at someone else the wrong way, suddenly a brawl broke out.

So, it was probably a good idea to remain cautious on these days, which is exactly what Felicity had planned on doing. She made sure to keep her eyes fixed on the opposite wall as she walked, and she walked as fast as she possibly could. The less confrontation with anyone, the better.

It wasn't really the fact that she couldn't handle herself -- Fay wasn't about to lose to someone in any type of fight -- it was more of the fact that she didn't want to deal with it. Why get into some unnecessary fight when you could just avoid it all? Avoiding was safer for everyone else anyway.

Felicity had been planning to hide out in the common room..until she heard her roommates fighting in there, and suddenly that idea was thrown out the window. So, Fay decided to hide herself in some corner of the corridors. Most likely, people would just overlook her, so she was safe.

Finally, some alone time. No one to glare at her in the hallway, and no teacher to shoot down one of her answers. Just Fay. Well, Fay and the rest of the students who walked past her, technically, but they didn't count. The only downside of being alone was the fact that she had nothing to do but either work on homework, or read. Honestly reading wasn't that bad, but she had finished all of her books already.

So here she found herself wishing that the wall would suddenly open up and she could go off on some adventure through a secret passageway or two. But the chances of that happening were slim to none.

[clarrissa]

Clarissa was off being her usual cheery, naughty self and it seemed that there was a fog of unhappiness in the school as if it had just been hit by the plague. She was completely unaffected by the cloud of depression and was finding it much too irritating that everyone else was having some premenstrual syndrome. That meant there was little or no attention to her, and that would just not do.

After asking a few portraits which way she should go to find people to talk to, she ended up wandering down a mostly deserted corridor except for a few teachers and prefects now and then. Idiotic paint-people, don't they have any idea what the word people means, or were they just talking about the annoying paintings that lined the hallway. Ah, well, she could always convince someone else to give her much clearer, and correct, directions if she wanted. People were her map, who needed to waste paper, anyway?

After a while the corridor widened and there were a few groups of students clustered together and talking quietly, or in some rather freightening cases shouting at each other but none seemed worth her time. Just a bunch of Ravenclaws and nasty Slytherins. Personally, she preferred the bold Gryffindors and the little innocent Hufflepuffs that were so easily pushed over. Perhaps that was one of her more sadistic mentalities, but in her few weeks at the school her mind was easily made up to that.

Clarissa stopped dead in her tracks as something hit her smack in the face. A scent, a feeling, whatever it was, it was alarming as she didn't expect to find it at school. Usually she didn't even feel it with her family, but there was clearly another veela around. Her eyes narrowed and her expression sharpened defensively and she scanned for the source, finding a far-too-beautiful raven that had to be her. Her lips curled into a smirk and she flattened out her skirts before walking calmly over to her.

"Good morning, missy. You're looking quite lonely and bored there." She said pleasantly while her mind worked furiously to decode to sense of nostalgia she was feeling. Something about the other veela girl was much too familiar, and it was doubtful that the French woman had really met her before. Or was it?

[Felicity Locke]

Hmm, boredom or possible danger? She was slowly leaning toward the dangerous part, but then Bray would most likely scold her or something for doing something like that. He was always so overprotective. That was probably because Fay's own family somehow lacked in the common sense department. Bray was like the brother she would never have!

As she sat there, debating whether or not to get up again, that oh too familiar sense hit her. The hairs on her neck stood on end and Fay could feel herself stiffen. Veela. They were crawling around the school now, and it was rather unnerving to walk through the halls and suddenly get that sick to your stomach feeling. It was like that foreboding sense one gets when they know they failed a test.

And then, there was a girl standing in front of her. She was obviously the source of Fay's discomfort, considering she was strikingly beautiful. She addressed Felicity with an air of superiority, which irked her to no end. With her lips set in a tight line, Fay stood and eyed the girl, one hand on her hip.

Felicity was pleased to find that she was taller than the girl, so she could actually look down on her. But, something about this all too high and mighty veela was off. She looked quite like someone Fay was related to, but that would be utterly impossible considering Christi was about thirty.

"Felicity. That's my name. Not missy or anything else you wish to call me. Felicity Locke."

[clarrissa]

Clarissa kept the flawless fake smile as she waited for the veela girl to respond to her, since obviously by the discomfort she was showing she could sense another veela around. At least she wasn't as much of a half-wit as she appeared to be. No respectable veela would ever find herself as a Ravenclaw, with all the nerds and bookworms. 'There's something odd about this veela girl. Of this, I am sure.'.

When the younger veela stood up, she involuntarily took a few steps back so she could keep her sense of dignity and authority with the girl who was obviously too tall to still keep a balanced form. Tall and gangly, and a little too lithe, how gross. After hearing the veela speak which tore her out of her little self-critique of the other girl, she smirked. "Well, aren't you a feisty one, dearie? That's attractive... not." She said the last word harshly as she would to any veela. Her family was stronger, larger and much more well-known than most veela clans and she as the young and spunky one enjoyed flaunting it as much as Madelaine did.

After she said this though, her jaw dropped slightly as she remembered what the girl had introduced herself as. Felicity Locke. Locke. As in the bastard that stole Christi's heart away then went and got himself killed. Could it be, that this is the foolish daughter that ended up having her own father killed in a bloody hospital. Clarissa could almost leap and cry out in joy at the situation this presented her with. "I, little Miss Felicity, am Clarissa Lemont." She did, in a way, follow what the veela asked of her and she smiled at this. "I presume that you know Christi Locke, then? Unless there's a bunch of Locke veelas that we're currently unaware of."

Madelaine would love to hear this news. Christi's been so illusive of them ever since she left France, and even though all the sisters were distant and not even really family, she heard that Christi was always the one that separated herself into her own world ruled by herself.

[Felicity Locke]

That smile was too perfect, it almost seemed to be evil. Felicity returned it within an instant though, letting her own perfect smile creep across her face. If they weren't in such a secluded area, half of the boys in the school would probably stop to just gawk at them. Being veelas and all, it was only natural.

"Mm, and somehow I find myself not caring what you think. It's a rather strange world we find ourselves in isn't it love?"

Felicity took in the girls expression with slight amusement. Her name had obviously surprised her in some way, but why Fay did not currently know. Lemont. One of the most powerful veela families in this century. Yes folks, Fay actually did brush up on her heritage.

A bigger question was, why did they know Christi? Christi Locke was never really one to mention anything about her previous family. Often she just told Fay that her and her mother weren't on good terms right now, and left it at that. Felicity had never inquired further, wanting to respect her mother's privacy.

"Depends on why you want to know about her. If you're looking for the dirt -- so to speak -- on her, then I am not the one to come to." Fay pulled out her dazzling smile again. "Her secrets are not mine to tell, so if you want to learn more..then talk to her yourself."

[clarrissa]

Dazzled for a moment by the veelas' own winning smile, she let her creep into more of a smirk which was meant to intimidate Felicity. She may be shorter, but there was a lot more evil packed into her and already she could tell that she wasn't a proper veela at all. What has her mother done, raising her like that. Nonsensical, caring, and intelligent? 'Improper veelas, they make me sick. Having a talent but not using it when there's a ton of girls who'd die for it. Wasteful!' Hearing her next comment, she just narrowed her eyes slightly in the most menacing glare her angelic face could make. 'Wasteful, and a brat. Someone needs to be taught a lesson.'

Instead of pouncing on her and smashing her stupid, ugly veela face in like she wanted too, she just shrugged off the anger and returned to her radiant smile. "A very odd world indeed, especially when someone doesn't heed their superiors advice." As a Lemont, she always found herself to be self-superior to the lower-level veela clans. The Lemont castle, though recently relocated, was still huge and filled only with the most beautiful men and the lovely vain ladies then at the heart was the ever-commanding Madelaine no-last-name.

Recognizing the shock that flickered through the other veela girls eyes for a moment, she purred in amusement. "Yes, indeed, Lemont. It's far too rare to see one of us at Hogwarts, but the main household had to move here short-notice." She said, explaining even though she was sure Felicity wasn't listening or didn't care.

At the words on getting some sort of dirt on Christi, she just raised an eyebrow slightly and her lowerlip pursed in thought. After a moment she just decided that she didn't know what the crazy veela was going on about with wanting Christi's secrets. 'Foolish little niece' Tapping her toes lightly as she tuned out the little rant, she just heard 'talk to her yourself' and refocused. "Am I to infer that she's nearby, then?" Oh, such a successful day indeed, Madelaine will be so proud when she reads my letter.

Deciding to take another approach to get information out of her illusively stupid kinsman, she just gave her the most adorable little pout that made her look so much younger. "Though, Miss Locke, for being of Lemont blood I've never seen you in our household. Is there a reason for such disgraceful behavior?"

[Felicity Locke]

Don't glare, don't snarl, don't hiss, just stare back. Stare her down. Miss High and Mighty isn't going to get the best of Felicity Locke today. Veela or no, Fay could kick her arse any day.

"Superior in heritage I suppose, but that doesn't entitle you the right to speak to me like you own me or something. If anything I would appreciate a little respect." Felicity placed a hand on her hip for a moment and glanced at the students walking past. Nope, she still went by unnoticed.

Fay let out a small laugh at the girl's question. Hell, you could ask anyone in this school if they knew where Christi Locke was. Honeydukes was one of the most popular shops in Hogsmeade. "Technically, she doesn't live near here. But I think you should pay more attention to the local gossip, more than half of this school knows exactly where she works."

Deciding that this girl would be a waste of her energy, she leaned against the wall. "That would probably be because the fact that I had no idea I was related to the Lemonts." She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Though I am quite curious why you Lemonts have taken a sudden interest in my little family. We are of no consequence to you, nor any type of gain. Why care about us?"

[clarrissa]

Clarissa's smirk widened into a toothy grin at her comment and she couldn't help but point out how horribly wrong that mindset was. "Foolish little Veela, heritage is everything. As far as I'm concerned, I do own you, Felicity." It may sound cruel, but that was the world she lived in and as a good little Lemont, Felicity should learn to live it.

Hearing laughter at something that clearly wasn't funny, she frowned for a moment and didn't appreciate the fact that Felicity could laugh at her without fear. Someone hasn't broken this girl into respecting her elders, metaphorically speaking. What a poorly raised veela. "Oh? Well, then, if your going to be such a bad little girl and not tell me. Then maybe I will find some more manipulable male to tell me where she is." She said with a sadistic smirk. Felicity seemed like the type that would discourage the use of the veela charm on just anyone, and Clarissa would test that theory now.

Clarissa's hand made the sharp and quick path straight to her chest and she took a couple steps back as if Felicity had just smacked her or inflicted fatal pain. "You... didn't.. know?" She managed to splutter out in disbelief before she calmed herself back down but could no longer smile like she was before. "Hasn't your mother ever told you who she is?" She said, realizing that surely this girl wasn't being serious. 'She must be highly misinformed. Madelaine won't like to hear this, I guess that falling out she had with Christi was worse than we thought.'

Perhaps she really would have to take little Felicity under her wing, for now.