Down Goes Another One

[Cait Sayer]

Cait had nothing to do, she’d already messed about in Idris’ office, moving his tea to the other side of his desk again – he had such an obsession about where things would be that even that small a thing would piss the guy off. She’d even spent the best part of her night writing his name on the notice board on Lovegood’s piece of parchment, only to find that he’d scratched it off again the next morning.

It was no fun when she didn’t get to see his reaction. After thirteen years of taunting the bloke, you’d think she’d tire of it – doing the same old things just to annoy him – but it always worked, so there was no point in changing it again. Plus, everybody thought he’d killed her, and his idle threats about killing her again was nothing to go by. Yet the gullible students still wrote about him being the one to off her. She knew full well she had been alone in that bathroom, and it had been her own idiocy that had caused her death, but starting more rumours looked on the cards for her next spout of fun. Students always took what she said the wrong way!

Abe would have something for her to do, he always had something different for her to achieve to annoy Idris even more. He seemed to revel in the act as much as she did, and came up with many the ideas on what to do next.

He’d been the one to originally write Idris’ name on the parchment, Cait had merely been the tool in writing it back on the second time. Nevertheless, he’d come up with something else for her, and it would always be something far more interesting than anything she’d get from any student.

”He scratched his name off again,” she announced loudly as she walked through his bookshelf and into his office. Looking around the room, certainly not as neat as Idris’ ever was.

[Abraham Grey]

Abe didn't have any classes that afternoon, which was another reason why he loved being an Arithmancy Professor. Less classes to teach (even less than the average elective teacher really because magical mathematics was hardly a popular topic) and none of those annoying first and second years to deal with. He'd had a leisurely lunch (and probably eaten far too much) then headed back to his office to catch up on the research he'd been neglecting in the start of year chaos.

Of course what had actually happened was that Abe had ended up putting his feet up on the desk, leaned back in his chair and dozed off. It was all too easy to do on a full stomach with autumn sunshine pouring in through the window. It didn't last though and Abe started awake, looking around wildly when he heard a voice. He was sure he hadn't heard any body knock and he knew of only a few people that would barge in without going through the motions first. "Cait!" He exclaimed wildly, allowing himself to relax when he realised it was the ghost and continual tormentor of their mutual friend Idris Argall.

"Did he?" Abe pouted, disappointed that their dastardly scheme had probably been foiled. "Damn him." It was worth it for the way Idris was storming about the place glowering at everyone (only a step up from his usual glare, but still noticeable). He fished his wand from his pocket and began to twirl it idly between his fingers, a trick that he'd spent far too long perfecting in his fourth year in a bid to impress girls that had never worked. "Well, we can always start on a new plan for torture. Did you see my lovely submission to the school paper?"

[Cait Sayer]

Cait rolled her eyes as she saw the man tip his chair back to the floor, now wide awake. He often fell asleep, he was a lazy git, more so than Idris, or herself. "I did," a smile flashed across her face before soon fading again, "The students still think he murdered me," she scoffed at the idea. She knew she had fallen on her own stupid accord. She knew it was her own fault that she'd drowned, she hadn't felt anybody lay a hand on her, and she'd have felt something if she'd been cursed.

She'd looked over the shoulder of an unsuspecting first year as they flicked through the paper, and half scared them to death when she'd explitively exclaimed over their shoulder about the article, you'd think over the last thirteen years people would have gotten over the fact that she had died in school, and stop pointing the finger. There was obviously no evidence of murder, and if he had murdered her, the investigation would have had him thrown in Askaban for it. He was still at the school, still teaching, so obviously he had to be innocent.

Not that students ever saw that.

"You reckon people will ever get over it, and believe me that he didn't touch me?" she thought about her comment before retracting it slightly, "Well," she elongated the word for a fair while, "Not in that way, anyway..." she trailed off and grinned at the Arithmacy teacher, he knew about them all too well...

[Abraham Grey]

Abe looked up at Cait as she spoke, almost dropping his wand as he attempted a tricky little twirl that may have been impressive back when he was still a teenager, or even if he'd actually pulled it off. "Well, Hogwarts is just one big gossip cesspool." He commented mildly. "You didn't really expect anybody to just let it drop, did you?" Sure under normal circumstances people would quickly lose interest in scandal, but this was different, Cait had died. And as far as a lot of people were concerned her killer was still at large.

Why else would she be haunting Idris? It couldn't possibly be that she liked the guy. Abe rolled his eyes, managing to get annoyed with the nameless gossips for their stupidity, since becoming friends with Cait and Idris he often found himself hotly defending them. He'd docked more than a few points from students for spreading rumours. Of course Cait hung around Idris, he was the only person she'd truly known at the school. As for why she tormented him... Well, annoying the foul tempered Professor was just so much fun.

"Not for as long as you're interesting." He told her simply. Then Cait's words sunk in and he gave a mock shudder, pulling a melodramatic face of disgust. "How very crude!" Abe exclaimed, he was unable to keep the outrage up for long though and quickly burst out laughing. "Cait, darling, please try to spare my poor fragile mind from being polluted with Idris in any sort of compromising position." He shuddered and again and then ruined it by winking at her, he just hoped she wouldn't throw coffee at him again or something. "You, on the other hand, I have no problem with imagining naked."

[Cait Sayer]

Cait's eyes flicked to his hand, and his wand, he never stopped trying to bloody make that trick work, and he always failed. He'd never get it to impress her no matter how much he tried. And it hadn't been when he had been able to do it back in the day, she hadn't paid copious amounts of attention to him then, but she'd seen him try it. "Cesspool," she repeated, "Yeah, you got that one right," she said with a hint of cynicism in her voice.

"I didn't think they would, I hoped they would, though," she said with a sigh, looking away from the wand now and back up to his face, no trace of a smile on her face.

She haunted Idris because he had been the only person to remotely care about what she had thought in school. She'd been very much outcasted near the end for being close to a Slytherin. She hadn't cared, until she died. It was like she went from being the most unpopular girl inn school, to being everybody's friend. Everybody cared after that, somebody must have murdered her, there were no other option. She thus became the talk of the school, when before nobody had known who she was.

"But I'm not interesting," she paused, "I'm dead! I walk around with an annoying silver glow in a hoody and pyjama bottoms. How the hell am I remotely interesting?" She couldn't help but snort at his reply, "Come on, it's not like you've never thought about it before!" she said, a grin spreading on her face, which quickly turned to a mock annoyance as he mentally undressed her.

"You know, it's awfully hot in here," she smirked, Abe fully knowing that she couldn't feel the heat, "I might just have to take off this, figure killing sweater," she said pulling up on the bottom of it a little, "What d'ya say?"

[Abraham Grey]

"Aww Cait." Abe sympathised, knowing that her death was often a subject that might not get her down per se, but certainly managed to annoy her. He supposed if he was the subject of so much false gossip he would get irritated too, it had been bad enough when somebody wrote that ludicrous article about him somehow being the father of Reese's child. "Well at least some of us know and believe the truth. You'll always be a klutz to me." He couldn't resist teasing a little, there was no point getting down about it.

"I like your silver glow." Abe protested, grinning cheekily. "It helped me find my wand that time I dropped it in the dark. Very handy." He waved a small dismissive hand, not really believing how Cait could think she was boring. "I think you're interesting. After all I didn't befriend you to find out how you died, I already through that drama the first time round." Thinking about Cait's death back when he was in his sixth year at school was a weird experience, it was hard to associate the vague picture of a girl in the year above him dying with the Cait he knew now.

"And it wasn't just because I wanted to mentally undress you whenever I felt like it either." He chuckled. "Although that's always a bonus." Abe's chuckle very quickly turned into a chocking cough as she called his bluff. It was always like that between them, flirtatious teasing to see how far they could push each other before one of them backed down. And Cait almost always won, damn her. "Well I'm not going to complain if you do." He said, hoping he sounded bolder than he felt.

[Cait Sayer]

Cait ran her hand threw her no longer golden locks, it was quite depressing, being shades of grey. You had nothing individual about you, apart from your sheen and transparency. It was quite depressing at time, and it certainly had its novelty wear off in the thirteen years of that being her constant state. Bringing her hand in front of her face and looking threw it at the Professor, she sighed, "Thanks," her tone sarcastic, defeating the downward smile on her face, "At least somebody believes me," she said clicked her tongue on the top of her mouth. She often wondered why her insides couldn't be seen, it would be rather gross if people could, but it was still one of those things that plague her otherwise unused mind.

"You're the onl- oh you are not funny! she glowered when he joked with her, only remaining serious for a second before laughing slightly, "Somebody used to find me interesting, then I died and all that interest went right out the window!" she was doing the depressed thing again. She didn't like doing it, but sometimes it just happened. She had to stop thinking about her death so much, it wasn't a happy topic, but it didn't help with the constant reminders about it.

"You just do it when you feel like it anyway, you don't need to want to. I just appear and mental undressing ensues. Pervert!" she laughed, tugging up on her jumper even more. Seriousness was never something they went through. But she was still in a seventeen year old's body, and with himm nearing thirty every day, she still felt obliged to call him on it. "Really?" she said pulling the top up and clean off, keeping a hold of it in her hand. A white (well silver glow white anyway!) cami top now visible. "How far do you reckon I could go before you, or Idris, does?" she said rising an eyebrow at her accomplice.