summer of misery. +Cabin 2 Boys

[Evan Rosier]

Gods… summer camp. This is what Evan has been reduced to, and it was clear, from the seemingly permanent scowl on his face, that he was most unhappy about it. He should have been in the comfort of his parents’ Estate right now, but no- his parents went on vacation, and rather than take their son, they decided that the idea of summer camp was a convenient excuse to leave him behind. He had, of course, made the effort to dissuade them, but they had their argument ready… other parents in their pureblood circle were also sending their children to camp, and so Evan lost that argument spectacularly.

As a form of protest, he had refused to participate in any welcome activities, and only reluctantly allowed himself to be swept off to meal times by his roommates (mercifully who happened to be comprised mostly of Slytherins). It was late, and he had been taking a short walk around the grounds, but now he strode toward his cabin (roughly shouldering a younger camper out of his way as he went) and quite melodramatically banged the door open and back shut. Without even bothering to look around to see if anyone else was present, he immediately walked to his bed and flopped down on it, burying his face in his arms and lying on his stomach, with one leg hanging off the end of the bed (where he fully intended to remain until the morning!).

[Thaddeus Avery]

Avery wasn't any happier about being stuck at summer camp than Evan was. Everything about this place was utterly nausea-inducing. From the stupid cabins with birds' names to the cheesy activities to the craptastic food, everything about this summer was complete torture for Avery. His father had given some sort of excuse about having to leave the country on business for the Dark Lord, but Avery knew better. His father just wanted him out of the way, and his mother was too weak to really do anything about it. Whatever.

At least he ended up in a fairly decent cabin. He'd heard of some of his fellow Slytherins being forced to share with Gryffindors and--Salazar forbid!--Hufflepuffs. He lucked into a cabin of mostly fellow Slytherins and one stray Ravenclaw. Of course, one of the Slytherins, Seth Inophen, was known to be dating the Hufflepuff champion, Maxi something or other, and seemed to be friends with the Ravenclaw, but it didn't matter. Avery could ignore them.

He was supposed to be at some sort of ridiculous arts and crafts nonsense right now, but his counselor, Toby, didn't seem interested in forcing his charges to attend, so Avery slipped out under the guise of "looking for some glue." Whatever glue was.

Making his way back to the cabin, Avery figured he could get a little sleep in before dinner was served. He had the hint of a plan forming in the back of his mind...

"Hey, Ev," Avery said, walking into the cabin and noticing his fellow Slytherin sprawled out on his bed.

[Evan Rosier]

Evan had started drifting off into a light sleep when the door opened and jerked him awake. Annoyance immediately flared inside him, but it was brief, as he recognized the voice that spoke to him. “Avery,” he greeted in return, his tone void of the usual disdain (possibly due to the fact he was tired, or perhaps because Thaddeus Avery was a friend… it was difficult to tell!). “Shouldn’t you be playing with the muggle… craft… things?” he asked as he lifted his head and looked toward the clock on the wall… and of course completely overlooking the fact he should also be present at some activity or another but, indeed, Toby had made no effort whatsoever to make any of them go. Evan was deeply appreciative of this; of course he wouldn’t have gone anyway, but not having to bicker with Toby over it made life much easier.

Evan yawned before sitting up and ran a hand through his rumpled short hair in an effort to flatten it. Blinking slowly, he momentarily took in Thaddeus’ appearance. It had been a small relief to learn he wasn’t the only person thoroughly disgruntled for having to attend camp; his fellow Slytherin had made it quite plain that he too deemed this to be a waste of time. “What do you think it would take for them to chuck us out?” A mischievous smile touched his features as he looked across the room at Thaddeus. What helped him keep his sanity was the hundreds of possibilities that could get him sent home, never mind the consequences he would face when his parents returned home and found him there. The house-elves could take care of him, he was sure of it.

“I’ve been fantasizing about setting a few of our dear fellow campers on fire,” he continued with a broad, wicked smile. Wait for some of the idiots to kip into their cabins and light the suckers up like a giant bonfire! He might earn himself a cell in Azkaban, but that HAD to be better than muggle arts and bloody crafts. “So, anything interesting happening tonight?” he asked in an air of doubt, as if he didn’t think anything at all could possibly be interesting around this camp, but decided to give Thaddeus the benefit of the doubt. He reached into the desk drawer beside his bed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes; an unfortunate habit he picked up from his Father a few years previous. He stuck one between his lips and lit it with the tip of his wand, dark eyes resting on Thaddeus once more.

[Thaddeus Avery]

"Ppppphhhh," Avery grunted in disgust. "I can't believe they're trying to make us do arts and crafts. They were about to break out the glitter. I'd rather use that nasty glue stuff to stick my nostrils together."

This place was a joke. Just a haven for muggle-lovers and idiots. If they'd had magic lessons and practice, maybe this could have been saved. But he was not about to sit around toasting marshmallows over a campfire and singing Kumbaya.

"Oh, I think there's a singalong scheduled for tonight," he said with a sickeningly sweet tone. "And then I'm going to see how many Hufflepuffs I can throw up on."

Avery flopped down on his own bed, noting with disgust how the bedsprings creaked and groaned under the strain. "I've got a better idea. Want to sneak out tonight?"

[Evan Rosier]

“Glitter?” Evan repeated in disgust, his lips curling into a scowl. “We’re being punished, aren’t we?” he asked in a resigned tone. In the first (and only) art class he had gone to, it had been mildly amusing to witness those from wizarding families learning how to use the muggle tools, but that certainly didn’t mean that he, Evan, intended to do it on a regular basis… or ever again, really.

Indeed; if the camp had been teaching them more magic, Evan would have a little less to complain about. They were all being treated like common muggles, and it was infuriating. As Thaddeus mentioned a sing-along, the dark-haired boy suddenly started coughing; the words had reached his ears the same moment he decided to take another drag from his cigarette. His expression was rather comical, mixed between horror and blatant disbelief. “You’re joking,” he nearly pleaded with his friend, trying and failing to imagine sitting around a fire and listening to his fellow campers sing stupid, corny songs all night.

The Slytherin started to rack his brain, searching for the perfect excuse not to attend (short of simply not showing up), when Thaddeus spoke again. Evan looked at him, and a smile slowly spread across his lips. “That’s a much better idea,” he agreed with a firm nod of his head. “But where to go, and what to do?” It didn’t even have to be anything exciting; just as long as he didn’t have to endure the torture of a bloody sing-along!

[Thaddeus Avery]

"I wish I were," Avery groaned. "But this place is a joke, that's for sure. A bad one."

He couldn't wait to tell his father what a ridiculous thing this really was. It was the kind of thing no decent wizard should ever have to be subjected to. Only a crazy muggle-lover like Dumbledore could have come up with such a nauseating hippie love fest as this.

"We're not far from town," he continued, feeling a spark of hope about the possibility of getting out this evening, even if it was only for just the night. "I overheard a couple of the older boys talking about it. There's a safe path that cuts through the edge of the woods straight into Hogsmeade. We could go to the Three Broomsticks."

[Evan Rosier]

“Who’s idea was this, anyway?” Evan snapped in annoyance; certainly not upset at Thaddeus but simply angry in general. “If I ever find out which Professor came up with this idea…” It was an empty threat (because, really, what could a thirteen-year-old wizard do against a fully trained adult?) but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t lose all respect he ever had for such wizard; assuming there had been any respect in the first place. And, of course, he was capable of being a really awful little terror in their class!

The dark-haired boy didn’t honestly know how far he was from town; he had been Apparated to camp by his Father and even during his wanderings he hadn’t gone too far. Not that he feared getting lost from camp… Gods, that would be such an improvement to his mood! But rather after a few days he would most likely starve. He had had servants all his life and certainly didn’t know how to prepare food; hell, he would probably poison himself in his efforts and die that much faster!

But the fear of starving in the wilderness vanished completely from his thoughts as he listened more closely to Thaddeus, and a wide, genuine smile touched his features. “I had no idea we were so close to Hogsmeade,” he said rather gleefully, his mind suddenly full of possibilities. “All those times I thought about running away, and I could have done successfully…”

Evan finished his cigarette, put it out on his boot, and flicked it carelessly out one of the open windows. “What the hell are we waiting for? Let’s skip stupid dinner; we can eat in Hogsmeade!” The excitement to get away from camp for a few hours was so great that Evan actually stood up, looking expectantly, almost impatiently, at Thaddeus. It might have been a better idea to wait a little while; perhaps bring a few other friends with them to make the event more fun. But they had the rest of camp! They could sneak out every night if they wanted to from now.

[Thaddeus Avery]

Avery laughed and shook his head. "Hold on, mate. We can't just walk out of here in broad daylight when anyone can see. If we get caught, they'll probably make us peel potatoes or something." He shuddered in horror, imagining all of the different punishments they could possibly come up with. It wasn't something he fancied.

"If we're going to do this, we need to make sure we don't get caught. It's best to do it when everyone else is busy somewhere else. I was thinking we'd go to dinner early and slip out early. Besides, I was thinking we'd invite Crouch along, too."

[Evan Rosier]

Evan hated to admit that Thaddeus made a valid point: they could not simply walk out of their cabin and wander off into the woods with people moving about, running back and forth to different activities. He heaved a deep sigh and walked over to his friend, sitting down a moment later on the bed beside his. “You’re killing me, Avery. I was prepared to take the risk, but if you’re so scared…” he flashed him a rare grin, teasing him. But the grin was quickly replaced by another scowl. “Oh, let them try to punish me with muggle chores. I’ll be kicked out of this hellhole for sure.”

He listened carefully to Thaddeus and then finally offered him a nod. “Fine- we’ll do that. But let’s make it really early, alright? I swear, if I don’t get away from here soon, I’m going to be ill.” The idea of bringing Barty along as well seemed to assure him that waiting was the right thing to do. “Sounds good. I wonder where he is. If he’s actually attending one of these classes, I’ll date a muggle,” he added in amusement, feeling quite sure that the boy in question would be off somewhere else.

[Thaddeus Avery]

"I'm not scared," Avery protested immediately, annoyance creeping into his voice. "I just don't need the hassle."

He wasn't really afraid of the punishment from the camp officials... but his father's possible punishment did worry him a little. His father wasn't exactly abusive... but he was not a nice guy. He would not be impressed if he found out his son was punished for sneaking out at magic camp, and Avery didn't want to think about what he might do if he found out. So the key was to make sure he didn't find out.

"Works for me," he agreed. "We don't even have to eat anything... just show up and be counted, then slip out."

It sounded easy enough. There was probably still plenty of room for mistakes, but Avery was confident they could pull it off. But if Barty was going to come along with them, they'd have to make sure they could talk to him before dinner.

"Barty? Eh, if he's smart, he's off with that little blonde I saw hanging around him. Harmony Lippre, I think it was."

[Evan Rosier]

A light chuckle escaped the Slytherin’s lips. “I won’t tell anyone, you know. About you being scared and all… perfectly natural, I suppose.” But his teasing was just that- teasing. Thaddeus knew Evan didn’t think of him as a coward by any means, and if truth be told the two boys were in the same boat where it concerned their Fathers. Neither of them would be too eager to disobey the older men and receive punishment for it.

“Better wait to be counted by someone other than Collins; he probably wouldn’t bother to remember, and then awkward questions would come up.” Make sure a few other counselors noticed them in the room, and then slip out. If they met any stragglers outside they could simply say they had eaten their fill and wanted to return to their cabin. Evan didn’t foresee many problems, except for finding Barty and conveying the message to him beforehand.

The dark-haired boy momentarily racked his brain for a face to go with the name Thaddeus had given, and then he remembered Harmony. “Don’t tell me Barty has an admirer,” he said with another little laugh. “If he starts talking about her for all hours of the day, I swear to Merlin, we are locking him out of this cabin.”

[Thaddeus Avery]

Avery scowled at him. "Shut up, I'm not scared, loser," he said. It wasn't said in a nasty way, but like a typical guy fake-fighting with his friend. It wasn't uncommon, especially among Slytherins, for the boys to call each other names and hassle each other, so neither of them would have thought anything of it.

"Good idea. I don't really think Collins cares what we do... so he won't get us in trouble when we don't show up tonight. But we should let someone else do the counting. That Ravenclaw chick with the weird name--Pyxi something?--seems to be pretty good about that stuff, so just make sure she sees us."

In truth, Avery had been thinking about this plan pretty much since the moment he arrived at this craphole. He'd studied the behaviors of some of the so-called counselors, trying to figure out patterns and behaviors. He'd even investigated the trail they'd be taking and knew where it was and how to approach it. Now, with the threat of a sing-along looming over their heads, was the time to make a break for it.

"I doubt he'd do that... but it depends what he talks about," Avery added with a raise of his eyebrows. Maybe he could find out a few tips for the next time he tried to make a play for Cadence Dearborn.

[Evan Rosier]

Evan crooked a smile at Thaddeus before he let the matter go. Well, sort of. “Whatever you say… pansy.” The dark-haired boy frowned slightly; he was so horrible with remembering people that he didn’t speak to on a regular basis. Harmony he could remember, vaguely, because she was a Slytherin… but the Ravenclaw girl? No; he simply drew a blank. “YOU had better make sure she sees us, because quite frankly, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Where most would assume he had a bad memory, they were wrong… Evan just didn’t make the effort to store information that he deemed unimportant. The Slytherin looked at Thaddeus with an amused expression. “And what, pray tell, are you hoping to hear from him? Surely not actual details of his love life?” He shuddered, the mere thought of it causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. “Or are you hoping to pick up some hints? What- Avery charm not working, mate?”

[Thaddeus Avery]

"Arse," Avery grunted, thus ending the "argument."

In general, Avery didn't make it a point to notice people who weren't otherwise connected to him, and he never had any reason to know who Pyxis Sampson was. But his observations of the counselors had pointed to two girls who seemed to fancy themselves in charge. The other girl, Rose Holt, had been the Head Girl, and in Avery's opinion, she was one to avoid. She would count them, but she'd also probably notice when they left... maybe even stop them and ask where they were going. So his plan was to stick with the Ravenclaw girl instead.

"I'll make sure we sit in her section," he said, nodding. "I've been planning this since we got here. It'll be cool."

Avery glanced again at the door, as if he expected Crouch to come walking in at that very moment. He didn't, however, and Avery turned back to Evan with a shrug. "Ew, no. I was hoping more for details about her. Not that I think Crouch is likely to get too far. But I guess I could use some tips. I crashed spectacularly when I tried to hit on Dearborn."

[Evan Rosier]

Yes- it was crucial to avoid anyone who might notice their leaving or, Merlin forbid, try and stop them. They didn’t need a nosy counselor in their business, that was for sure. “Have you?” he asked with mild interest regarding Thaddeus’ apparent plans to sneak out since they arrived. He couldn’t help feeling relieved; at least someone had managed to come up with an alternative to sitting around camp. Evan Rosier would NOT, under any circumstance, participate in a bloody sing-along. He would rather curse off his own ears.

“I suppose you’ll want a reward for being clever?” Evan laughed quietly. “How’s this sound: if you manage to successfully sneak us out of here, all the entertainment of the night will be on me.” This, also, was a joke; both Evan and Thaddeus were ridiculously wealthy, and it wouldn’t harm either of their bank accounts to spend a night having fun.

“She shot you down?” the Slytherin asked while arching an eyebrow (in all truth making yet another attempt to match up a face with the name!). “Planning on trying again, or has she wounded your ego so magnificently that you’ve lost all hope?” It might have sounded like he was making fun of Thaddeus but genuine curiosity could be seen in his dark eyes.

(OOC: Want to invite Barty to join them?)

[Seth Inophen]

Seth was not one to spend a lot of time in the cabin, but it was reported it was about to rain soon, and he found himself doing what every other camper did and that was make a mad dash toward the respective cabins before the first rain drop fell. Seth made it through the door just as the sky opened up.

He knew he was no friend really to the other Slytherins in the dorm. His brother may have been a big pure blood supporter, but Seth was always an outcast among his housemates, a fact he carved in stone by dating a hufflepuff and befriending Bek the Gryffindor and Gage the Ravenclaw. So when he reached the cabin and found Avery and Evan, he didn't really say anything and just went to his bed, pulling out a book and opening to his marked page.

[Thaddeus Avery]

(I was thinking we should... send Barty a message)

Yes, Avery thought his plan was pretty ingenious if he said so himself. Still, if he hadn't been so lucky as to overhear the conversation between the two older students, he wouldn't have known how easy it was to sneak into town. So really, if the older students were doing it, there really was no reason why they couldn't do it as well, right? That would certainly be his excuse if they got caught... But I heard the older students were doing it. He even had names of people he could turn in, and surely the older students would get in worse trouble for "setting a bad example."

"Works for me," he said, grinning. Yes, it was true, either one of them could easily afford whatever expenses they might have, but because they were Slytherins, they were also rather cheap and didn't like to spend their own money when they could get someone else to do it for them.

"Eh, who needs her, anyway?" he said dismissively. "Dearborn's cute and all, but I could do better. I don't need some girl who thinks she's smarter than me."

He was about to say something about going to look for Barty when two things happened. First, their cabinmate Seth Inophen, the blood traitor, burst into the cabin and laid down on his bed. This was followed by the telltale clatter of heavy raindrops on the wooden roof of their cabin. Avery frown deeply at both events. They could no longer speak freely of their plans in front of Inophen, who would surely turn them in. And the rain, if it continued, might disrupt their plans to sneak into town. On the plus side however, it might also disrupt the planned singalong...

Avery shot a look of annoyance at Evan, rolling his eyes, but said nothing. It would have had the effect on Seth of all conversation coming to an abrupt halt when he walked into the room.

[Bartemius Crouch Jr.]

(Lol, I'd planned on posting in here anyways and it looks like I was wanted. Sorry I've been away guys)

Barty Jr. was in fact in the arts and crafts class. He'd promised his father he'd make an attempt to join the camp's activities but this was ridiculous. He tried to follow the instructions and ended up with more glue than anything else. When they had brought out the glitter and feathers, he'd given up and walked out, dumping his pastey project in the trash. He hadn't even been sure what he was making. What the hell was a dreamcatcher anyways?

He walked back to his cabin, not bothering to attend any other of the mundane muggle activities. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find the cabin empty and actually get a nap in. He hadn't wanted to attend camp this year but his father insisted upon it. He got the idea that his father wanted him out of the house more than anything. They weren't exactly "buddies". He had been hoping that the fact that Harmony Lippre was attending would brighten his time here but he'd hardly seen her since arriving. Not that he wanted to see her. Because it wasn't like he liked her or anything. At least that's what he'd been trying to tell himself. He was trying to save himself the heart ache when it all turned out to be some sick joke or that she'd lost a bet. That was the only excuse he could come up with.

He walked into the cabin and narrowed his eyes at how very not empty it seemed to be. Well, there went that nap idea. He nodded his head to his mates and flopped on the bed. "Rosier, Avery." He greeted them as he shut his eyes. "Did I miss anything interesting?"

[Evan Rosier]

Evan chuckled quietly. “Yes- I’m sure you could do better than Dearborn.” There were, after all, many lovely females at Hogwarts to choose from. He looked around in surprise at the same time Thaddeus did as the cabin door opened. He had hoped that it would be Barty, but no- instead it was his least favorite cabin mate. And then his dark gaze turned skyward as rain began to fall outside. He cursed, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Of course it would start to rain just when they had planned on sneaking out and finding some sanity in the village. “Evening, Inophen,” he said dully, greeting their fellow Slytherin when Thaddeus failed to do so. It wouldn’t do them any good to be outright hostile toward each other, so why not attempt to be civil? Besides- Seth would undoubtedly notice if three of his cabin mates went missing all night. Toby wasn’t likely to care enough to tattle on them, and the Ravenclaw- Gage, or whatever his name was- wouldn’t do so if he knew what was good for him. But Seth… well, that could be a problem.

And so Evan worked to keep the dislike out of his face as he looked at Seth. “So- activities finished for the evening, due to the rain, then?” Oh please… if they could not slip out to the village tonight, please, Merlin, let the sing-along be cancelled…

But another distraction came as, for the third time since Evan entered the cabin, the door was thrown open, and this time his dark eyes fell on the person he wanted to see. “About time, Barty,” he commented lightly. “I was starting to think you actually enjoyed playing with glitter.” The dark-haired boy immediately wanted to ask if Barty would like to join them to Hogsmeade (assuming the rain stopped soon)… but how to do so in front of Seth? He looked at Thaddeus, silently asking his friend to take the lead.

[Thaddeus Avery]

"Oh, hey, Seth."

Avery frowned slightly as he greeted Seth. Manners--and subtlety--weren't exactly Avery's strong points, so it wasn't unusual for him to fail to acknowledge someone he didn't like. But he realized that Rosier was right in his hint--it wouldn't be a good idea to get on Seth's bad side. He'd be more likely to snitch on them if they treated him cruelly.

When Barty came in, Avery nodded at him and added a simple "Hey." His mind was working, trying to figure out how to clue Barty in to the plan without tipping off Seth. The best choice seemed to be to find a way to distract Seth, so that the other could tell Barty about the plan. He caught the look that Evan shot his way, and he gave a slight nod in his friend's direction.

"Everybody looking forward to the singalong tonight?" he said in a bright, overly enthusiastic voice that his friends would recognize as sarcasm. Seth probably would, too, but that didn't matter. It was his way of trying to "include" Seth in the conversation.