[b]Gryffindor Tower – 7th Year Boys Dorm[/b]
[b]James MacFusty[/b]

Jimmy had all but dived through the portrait's secret entrance, embarrassment in front of the Professor be damned. The spiral staircase was rickety with gaps between each step and an ominous creaking noise that sounded with even the slightest bit of pressure; however, he figured if it had lasted so many centuries already, it was going to be [i]fine[/i].

Though he suspected there were more individual steps than the Grand Staircase, at least these ones didn't move. 

At the top, he barged into the common room just as his roommates were leaving, prompting a few startled laughs. He didn't have to waste breath on the password that way. As soon as he was at his bed, he dumped his sweaty Quiddich gear on top of all his books and parchment and quills scattered over the relatively clean bedspread. He'd clean it later, or hope the house elves would do it for him.

The very moment a [i]tempus[/i] charm left his lips, he knew he was doomed. He'd never be able to have a shower before breakfast, not without being late to his first class, and Adelie would have a fit if he did that again. Even though he was a slob – as his half-buttoned shirt and loose tie proved – he didn't want to stink of exercise all day...

“What was that spell again..?” he asked himself, waving his wand haphazardly in an attempt to mimic his ma's casting at home. An air-freshening charm that worked on a couch would surely work on a human, right?

The answer, as it turned out, was 'sort of'. Jimmy began a hurried walk down to the Great Hall smelling distinctly (and strongly) of roses.