Prefects and Portraits (Josh)

Double checking the note, she made her way over to the Portrait Room. She was ecstatic when she got the letter sometime during summer telling her that she had been made a prefect, and her parents had been really proud of her. She was now to meet her patrolling partner, the prefect with whom she was to be paired with for the rest of the school year.

The note from the head teachers had said to go to the Portrait Room, and she left her common room immediately, not wanting to be late. Stepping into the room, she looked around at the different moving pictures. She was the only one here, and she stood, patiently waiting for the other prefect to arrive.

"You're late. Make sure it doesn't happen again, or I will inform the Headmaster of your incompetence to undertake your duties."

Jumping at the voice, she turned around to see a Slytherin boy standing there. A slight frown crossed her face. How could she forget the boy who had blown up a fence she was sitting on? She had never actually gotten his name. Checking her watch, she replied, "I'm not late. The note said eight pm. It's currently seven fifty-five." One thing her family valued was being punctual, and it was a habit deeply sowed into her; she tried her best to never be late.

"So what are we supposed to do?" she asked. "It's my first year as prefect."

"You're late when I say you're late."

"I..." she started, but thought better and just nodded. "It won't happen again," she added. Something in her mind clicked and she remembered some stories she had heard in her common room. "You're Josh, aren't you," she stated, quite certain of this.

"You're supposed to do what you're expected to do."

She let out a small laugh, although she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or just plain rude, choosing to believe the former. Her parents had always taught her to look for the best in people, and that everyone had a story to tell, so all she said was: "Fair enough."

"Being your first year doesn't give you the right to not know. Read a book, find your answers. Our first patrol begins now."

"I highly doubt you can find these sort of answers in a book," she commented lightly. Quickly following him out of the room, she found a stride next to him. A few moments of silence passed - and Brooke did not like silence - before she piped up with, "So, what year are you in?"

"The very same."

She smiled to herself, glad that she had gotten it right. Of course, that also meant she was dealing with the Josh, but she pushed aside the stories she had heard. Rumours and gossip that were discussed at night or in secret were usually just a pinch of truth, twisted and stretched, added with a whole lot of crap. Brooke tended not to heed or entertain things like that; she'd much rather get to know people and then make her own judgements.

"Then you're looking in the wrong place. There is a book that tells you how to do everything in life. You just need to look."

"I'll certainly keep an eye out for that, then," she replied, not knowing what else to say. If there truly was such a book, she thought to herself. Josh confused her thoroughly, as she could not figure out what his intentions were. Sometimes she thought he was being rude, yet others, sarcastic.

"Sixth."

"Oh! So you took your O.W.Ls last year," she exclaimed. "How'd you do? Mine are this year." She watched as he checked the door and took his place. She figured he was waiting to see if there was anyone still out of bed, and stood next to him. Being a prefect was still new to her, but she was a fast learner, and hoped she would pick things up soon.

"Outstanding for every subject."

"Wow, that's amazing. Congratulations," she said, happy for him, but also nervous for her own exams. She smiled at him warmly, although his cold disposition was starting to unnerve her a little. Maybe the stories about him were true, she began to think, but immediately shut those thoughts out.

A few seconds of silence passed, and Brooke decided that just standing there was of no use, and Josh was obviously not one for communication. Moving towards the hall, she kept an eye out for anything foreign or out of place, not just students. After making a quick check inside the Transfiguration room, she continued on to the hall. Nothing caught her attention, and so she walked back to where Josh was standing. "Empty," she told him.

"But trouble is coming from the stairs, so I would prepare yourself for your first dealings with miscreants, two or three students, I think."

How did he know? She tried to listen for anything that had tipped him off to that fact, but didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Just before she was about to ask him, a tapping came from the direction that he has stated and she turned to see three younger Hufflepuffs walking towards them. So he had been right, she thought, as she moved towards them.

"Excuse me," she said firmly, watching them freeze as they saw her. "You should be in your common room," she continued, indicating towards the clock. Remembered when she herself had been caught out of bed by the Scarlett and the kindness she had received, she added, "Do you need anything?"

When they shook their heads, she motioned them away and they scuttled off, hopefully to their dorms and not to another place. Turning back to her partner, she gave him a half smile. "Do you want to move to the next floor now, or do you think there will be any others coming?"

"We only have this floor and the dungeons. But I can assure you the dungeons is no place for a lion."

What was that suppose to mean? Indignation rose in her and she opened her mouth to retaliate, only to remember her resolution to control her temper. Besides, the last time she had been rude to him things had not gone very well. She knew that the Slytherin common room was somewhere in the dungeons. Was he insinuatiing that she couldn't take care of herself? To be fair, she thought, he did have a point about Slytherins and Gryffindors not getting along. Maybe he was looking out for her?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, she almost laughed out loud. Even though she was relatively new to Hogwarts, and didn't know many people yet, she knew enough to know that Josh didn't care about anyone.

"I... You..." she paused and frowned, wondering what to say. "I guess you have a point. Do you want to go down there while I stay up here?"