---

0900 hours, between lessons.


Fortunately for Raine, their Muggle Studies lesson had not run over their schedule this morning-- and fortunately for her, their classroom was on the first floor. She had ducked out without even bothering to see if Maurice was still in her satchel, almost sprinting down the corridor and skipping steps on the way down to the ground floor.

The first years would have just come out of Potions, based on what she knew of their timetables. A steady, muddled stream of younger years were emerging from the dungeons as the Gryffindor prefect gracefully stepped down from the main stairwell. Her blue gaze was serious and intense as it shifted from one face to another, searchingly.

Last night, she had received the latest of her correspondence with her squib friend. The letter had contained an... interesting discovery. Tyr Brunn, one of the Durmstrang boys, was apparently Abby Reid's prospective husband in what Raine considered to be a rather archaic form of arranged marriage. This would not do.

The fellow was from Durmstrang, Merlin's beard, why would they want her to marry him? And this was Abby, after all. Eccentric and determined but nonetheless quite protected. Raine did not like the idea of her friend being carried off by an unscrupulous foreigner, should the Reid family have their way. This was where her housemates came in.

Raine's eyes found who they were looking for and she approached the group of students with a sombre air, expression slightly more serious than it need be. Short as she was, most of first years were still tiny and she found herself glancing down at the faces of a pair of Gryffindors.

"Share, McGee." Her tone was arresting. "A word aside, if you would please." Raine was not accustomed to dealing with the younger crowd; how she could have ever been one of them was beyond her. But everyone had their uses and where it would be inconvenient or unseemly for a sixth year prefect to spy on a visiting student... well, it was most certainly more acceptable if the perpetrators were curious little firsties.

The witch nodded her head, indicating towards a space outside the flow of students leaving and entering the dungeon. Her prefect badge had been pinned marginally higher today, even polished to shine brighter. She needed them to be aware of her position if she was going to acquire this favour. Raine tried smiling at her housemates, unaware that it seemed more malicious an expression than it did affable.

"I have a request to make of you both, or..." she glanced fleetingly at some of the other faces around: "Or anyone else interested."

Dessa couldn't help the way her eyebrows shot up. "A request?" she muttered to Lexi, her tone low and rather suspicious. However, the older girl didn't seem particularly threatening or rude, and while she was taller than the pair of firsties, it was--for a change--not by too large of a margin. Still, she was slightly piqued by the girl's assumption that they had the time and will to fulfill her "requests". Was it because they were first years, and this girl was older? Or was it because--as the gleaming badge so obviously proclaimed--she was a prefect. Yes, Dessa was definitely suspicious.

In the end, however, her natural and insatiable curiosity won out, and Dessa cocked her head at the prefect to show interest. "Yes?" she asked. There was also a note of excitement in her voice. This was a deviation from the norm, and Dessa lived for the new and exciting.

Taking note of the shiny prefect badge and the sharp tone of voice, Lexi followed the elder Gryffindor. She shrugged when Dessa had muttered "A request?" to her. Who knew what she wanted, could just be that they were talking to loud? But wait, this was a request not only for them, but for anyone else. "What sort of a request would this be?" She asked, following Dessa's excited gesture.

Lexi tapped her fingers nervously on her thigh, wait, were they in trouble for something? Did they do something wrong? ....she wasn't like, hazing the firsties or something, right?

Dilly was the naturally inquisitive sort, and when the Gryffindor prefect approached the other Firsties with a request,  of course she wanted to find out what was up.

She hoped this request didn't mean she was in trouble for something again. She' d already managed to tick off Ruby Flitwick and a bunch of others, at the SAWS meeting. Though probably that would turn out all right, because once the group had a break for refreshments and got more into planning activies, everybody seemed to forget about her. At least that was what she hoped.

As she hoped whatever was going on here might be something that would get her back into everyone's good graces again. Seven years was an awfully long time, if Dilly was going to be without friends for all of it...

Edging over to where the others were, she looked up at Almasy and said, "Wha'd you have in mind?"

The other first years had wandered away and Raine stood aside with those who had stayed behind, curiosities piqued. She could not help but feel a tickle of team pride, gazing down at her fellow Gryffindors... well but of course, who else better to attempt this endeavor than the house of the bold?

Smiling a little wider, the prefect fixed on McGee's question. "A discreet request," she answered and glanced up to give their surroundings a quick scan. There were fewer students wandering around the ground floor now. Nobody seemed particularly interested in her goings-on; to the outside eye, she was simply an older student apprehending her juniors.

Raine nodded to herself before turning her attention back to the girls. "Alright. Listen here. I don't want any of this getting around. If I hear anything through the grape vine it will become my personal business to make your next two years at this school a living hell. Understood?"

It didn't matter if they agreed or not and she breezed through any responses they might have had, set on getting to the point. "There is a Durmstrang boy. His name is Tyr Brunn. Sixth year, a rather unremarkable looking person... you may have noticed him around." Raine looked from one face to another, her expression serious but alive with deliberation.

How was she going to phrase this? The redhead had gone over it several times in her mind but it came out in the same manner in each time: awkward, suspicious. Perhaps a little disturbing. But still... for Abby's sake. The firsties would have to trust that she wasn't setting up a ploy for their opponents.

"I want him watched," Raine's smile had all but disappeared. "Carefully."

Dessa guard inched further up with every word. A living hell, eh? What could this prefect possibly want from them that would warrant that grade of torture if they betrayed her trust?

At the description of the Tyr Brunn character, the supposed object of their scruntiny, Dessa raised her eyebrows incredulously. "...You may have noticed him around..." Yeah, not so much. Not when she was already occupied trying to adequately notice her own surroundings and prevent some kind of epic accident. Despite her suspicions, however, Dessa's formulaic (at least when it came to mischief) mind couldn't help but begin to scan through the logistics of this spying--because no matter how the older girl worded it, that was what it was--situation. If the boy was unremarkable, not one to commonly have a large crowd surrounding him, it would be harder to follow him inconspicuously. More of a challenge.

And Dessa liked a challenge. "Carefully..." she repeated contemplatively. "I think I can do careful." She glanced conspiratorially at Lexi and Dilly, waiting for their responses. She knew this was the kind of thing Lexi was brilliant at, and though she hadn't known Dilly long, she was sure that the girl's history at an orphanage and on the streets would give her the advantage of stealth.

Alice had lingered in class for a moment, after spilling her quills and papers. She had picked them all up when she walked out of the room. There she saw Dessa, Lexi, Dilly, and some prefect. Oh! A prefect! How amazing, I mean, I'm standing in the presence of a PREFECT! She thought as she hurriedly went over to Lexi.

"Hi there Lexi." She glanced nervously at the Prefect. Don't screw up Alice. Just don't screw up. "Whatcha' talking about?"

While they weren't what Raine would have called the brightest younglings she had ever met (although really, how could one expect much from first years?), the interest was there. There was little reluctance in their faces... the prefect's worries had fortunately been in vain.

Another had joined them while she was speaking and Raine glanced at her, catching the question but ignoring it for the most part. The rest of the group could inform the Hufflepuff later. They couldn't afford to linger for too long on this floor; people would eventually begin to notice, or they might overhear the exchange. This would not be allowed to go any further than a select few persons.

"Alright. You understand then." Raine's expression relaxed marginally. "If you are seeking any recompense, all I can say is that... that I might be very easily persuaded to look the other way, should any of you be caught breaking the rules under my patrol." Certainly not something she wanted another prefect to know about; but still, the notion was not completely unheard of.

The Gryffindor straightened her posture, glancing around the ground floor at some of the passersby before looking back to the first years. "I won't expect to hear from any of you until after the first task," she smiled faintly to herself. They would need to take their time; and the longer they had, the more information they could collect. "Work slowly if you must. Better to be patient than to be caught."

Raine hoped that Tyr was not too observant a person. This gaggle of girls might alarm him. "If you have any questions, don't use notes. Try to catch me when I'm alone," her gaze fell on some of the Gryffindor faces. Easier for housemates. "I have classes now," she told them in a tone that didn't invite any further questions. "You all better move along to yours."

---

"...Right..." Dessa murmured as she watched the older girl saunter away. Her most immediate thought was the old 'who does she think she is?', but it was quickly bypassed by the idea of having an actual mission. As if they were spies, or something. Plus, having immunity with a prefect was an excellent deal-sweetner.

 Dessa felt as if they belonged to some secret club, and she exchanged mischievous glances with Lexi, Dilly, before her eyes came to rest on Alice, who had just walked up to the group about three quarters of the way through the bizarre exchange. She was now looking almost comically confused.

Taking a step forward, Dessa grabbed her Hufflepuff friend by the shoulders and looked seriously into her eyes. "Al, we have a mission." She intoned, trying to sound as official and serious as possible, an attempt slightly undermined by her vocal chord's peevish insistence on being those of an eleven year old girl.

After the prefect walked away, and Dessa had put her hands on Alice, telling her that they had a mission, Alice's eyes had to be as big as baseballs. She was expecting the worst. Not some little espionage. Something serious. Like rescuing someone or something. Did it involve her? Was Dessa being yelled at? What in the world was going on?

"What is it? Is someone hurt or something?" She asked, worriedly. She secretly hoped Dessa would lie to her in order to protect her from freaking out. If it had to do with her cat, or her life, she was going to have a serious issue. And by the way Dessa acted, Alice was completely unsure whether she was joking, or was serious.

"Naw," said Dilly, wanting to ease Alice's worry before it got out of hand. "She just wants us to..um, spy on somebody."

She looked around at the others, as they headed for class. "Any of you have any idea who this bloke is? I mean, aside from his being from Durmstrang. All she really said was that he was...unremarkable looking. Which isn't a whole lot of help..."

An idea struck her. "Could it be that fellow from the SAWS meeting?" In fact Dilly had sort of been grateful he was there. Not because she agreed with him, but because it seemed that he managed to tick everybody off so much that it was possible they might  have forgotten about Dilly.

"No," she said as she thought about it. "At least I hope it's not him. Because that bloke is like a lightning rod for attention. Which is just what we don't want to be."