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Hogwarts Grounds
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The Steps
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"You guys haven't heard anything?? They found a girl, not a student, upstairs a week ago. That's why entrance is forbidden!" Frederic said, his eyes wild. "She was in a state of shock so they took her to St Mango's Hospital."
Natasha shook her head, eyes wide. "They must be trying to keep it quiet," she said in a whisper. "Who was it? Is she alright?"
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Frederic was surprised to see that the two girls hadn't heard anything about it. It seemed that the professors had done a good job trying to keep the peace within the school. At least the girls' expression seemed sincere... "I don't know who she is but I heard Professor Merauke saying she was not a student here." Then he turned to Elle. "What did it? That's the question. All I know is that Professor Eddings was really worried." he said placing his hand on her arm.
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Frederic looked at Elle with compassion. Looking at her he felt like he had to protect her. "This time it's just us. We should get out of here as quick as possible. But first, I'd like to listen to Natasha's secret." Frederic said almost unable to take his eyes from Elle.
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"Oh, I...um..." Now it was Natasha's turn to blush. "Well I may have exaggerated just a bit. It's not exactly a secret. And it's not...dark or anything." She bit her lip. "At least I didn't think it was. Until you told me your story."It's silly really. I was just taking a stroll, enjoying the cool weather and-" she swallowed, "-and then I heard shrieks. Well, no, it was more like moaning. I thought someone was hurt, so I ran inside, up the steps. To the forbidden floor.
"I didn't find anything except for Peeves," she said, making a face. "I thought he was the one making the noises, so I started yelling at him to quit. I have a short temper when it comes to poltergeists. Anyway, he didn't answer me, just threw a dungbomb in my face and disappeared! Penelope went crazy! I--" She paused at their confused expressions.
"Oh, I was cat-sitting for a friend, I guess I should've mentioned--"
She gasped, standing up abruptly. "Oh no. Penelope!"
Then she ran straight up the steps and into the forbidden floor.
Frederic spun on his heels shouting "Hey! Come back!" but stopped shortly after. He wanted to run away so badly and inform the teachers but he couldn't shake off his head the temptation to act like a hero in front of Elle. If only she would urge him to rerurn to the common room... But what would happen to Natasha? He dreaded to think.
Natasha took the steps by two, ignoring Frederic's call. She didn't stop until she reached a door. She put her hand on the knob and slowly opened it, anticipating the slight creaking noise."Penelope?"
She scanned the room, looking for her friend's cat. How could she have been so stupid as to forget about her?
Natasha stepped all the way into the room, closing the door behind. She wasn't too scared that anything would happen to her. She really just didn't want to get caught.
"Penelope?" she called again. Then her eyes rested on it.
"Oh!"
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Frederic was stunned. His legs had twisted as he wanted desperately to go and bring help but the girls were already upstairs. Cursing he reached the door. Muffed voices could be heard but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He opened the door and got in. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
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((LOL I totally didn't know what to say))
Frederic hesitated. It seemed that whatever he would do, someone would get hurt. "I can't leave you here! Take my arm!"((Yeah, me too! I really don't know how this is going to end. :P ))
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Frederic looked as if he was about to say something but eventually lowered his head. He jumped towards the hallway trying to guess where Tasha might have gone. As he turned left, his thoughts were on Elle again. What's happening to me? he thought. As he shook his head he caught a glimpse of someone crouching in the corner.
It was Natasha, and she wasn't alone. Beside her lay Penelope, cold in death. Cradled in her arms was something she'd not expected to find. She held a baby, small and warm--and tearful.Natasha's gaze held a mix of tenderness and shock, as she held the crying boy.
The cries became moans. Moans that did not ordinarily come from a baby's throat.
Natasha's jaw trembled. She didn't know what to do. She only knew that she had to protect this poor child from whatever had hurt the cat and was now causing him so much pain.
"Please. Please don't cry." She looked around the room, hoping find something to help her.
"Frederic!" But as soon as she spotted the boy out in the hall, the child's cries amplified to an unbearable pitch, and Natasha was pushed back by a powerful force. She crumpled , but the baby floated to the ground, unharmed.
This was no ordinary child.
((Yeah, I'm totally making this up as I go along...))
"Tasha!" Frederic shouted. Terrified he drew his wand and cast a defensive spell to protect them. His heart was beating so fast while the air had gotten chilly again. Despair seemed to fill the corridor as he could hardly discern a hooded figure approaching the baby. "Expecto Patronum" he cried but he failed...Drifting into unconsciousness he hoped Elle had called for help...((We can always end it if you guys ran out of ideas or anything.))
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((I will, since Natasha's unconscious. Just give me a sec))
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((We'll rap it up pretty soon))Professor Eddings scurried over as fast as he could, plump as he was. Wand at the ready, he motioned for Eve to keep behind him. They came to the room that kept Natasha, Frederic, and the baby.
He quickly gauged his surroundings. Shouting at Elle to tend to the students, he brandished his wand against the hooded creature.
"Riddikulus!" he cried, and the creature turned out not be a dementor, but a boggart.
The boggart left defenseless, Eddings now turned to the baby boy.
"We thought we wouldn't have to hurt you," he muttered to the child. Then he waved his wand and the child's cries ceased.
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"Wh-What happened.. Professor Eddings! Elle!" Frederic sat up and took a look around him. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be fine except for... "What was that??"
Eddings nodded, but his eyes were glued to the creature.Natasha came to her senses, and the baby was the first thing on her mind. She sat up quickly and gave a small gasp of pain.
"Professor," she cried. "Thank goodness! The baby--"
"It's not a baby," he said darkly. He guarded their view of the creature. "You three need to get to the Hospital Wing immediately. I would escort you, but I have things to deal with here. I'm sure you'll find help along the way." He eyed them with concern.
Natasha glanced at Penelope with tears in her eyes. If only they had found help sooner.
((So is it over or are we continuing in the Hospital Wing? :)"
((We can if you want. Or we can skip ahead and pretend they've already been healed and everything. It's up to y'all, I don't care.))
((Me neither. I'm fine with both. Eve are you still interested in setting up Frederic with Elle? If so, do you want to play it out or just post in Relationships?))
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Wearing his Hogwarts uniform in a sloppy kind of way, he tossed his green apple in the air and grabbed it without even looking. Going through the marble gate, he took a bite and chewed, refreshed.
He took a big breath, inhaling the cold air.
What a weirdly beautiful day! he thought.
As usual, he couldn't study. So, he decided to take a walk and the Steps were the destination.
His steps stopped as he saw beautiful red hair flowing with the wind and a girl sitting there. How marvelous they were, contrasting this grey day.
He took a stepped closer to the girl, and sat next to her, invading her personal space bubble.
He took another bite of his apple, and gazed into her eyes.
"Hi."
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He chewed his apple slowly, thinking of what to say. He avoided her question and instead, he spoke his mind.
"Why do you write here?" he asked, noticing the quill and the parchment.
"You could write anywhere. In the Common Room, in the library, on your bed, in the Courtyards. So why do you write outside the gate of Hogwarts?" he said, moving his hands slightly when he talked, and taking a bite in between questions.
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"People are too set in their ways." he said as she took the apple from him.
"I want to fly and they want to walk. Isn't that weird? Who doesn't want to fly?" he said, jumping up and grabing her arm, swirling her around. He caught her before she could fall, because they were still on stairs, and carefully had her seated down again.
Instead of sitting down, he stood in front of her, one step down so that they were in the same height.
"My name is Aito." he said, bowing his body a little bit and taking out his hand.
"And you are?"
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"You have the most peculiar name I have ever heard."
"That's amazing!" he said, sitting down one step lower than her, his back turned away from the lake and the view. For some reason, all that wasn't interesting anymore.
He took our his wand and whispered a spell. A red camellia flower appeared, its shape as if made from dust and flew around Juniper. Then the wind took it away.
"I like creating things out of my imagination. Only, I'm not that good in putting them on paper."
"So, Juniper, what house are you in?"
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"Oh no. I just asked to know where to find you in case of an emergency. Like when I create something so magnificent that I only want to show it to you." he said, sweeping some hair of her eyes.
"So, did I interrupt you from writing a poem?" he said, turning his back on her, but leaning backwards so that he's lying down. His head was a little further than her, so with the corner of his eye he could still see her.
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They both looked at the grey clouds. The air was humid and simultaneously cold.
"Sometimes, even though you love your family, you want to not think of them. You wish to be alone, in peace and quiet, and to let worries and anxious moments behind you." he said, closing his eyes.
He took out his wand and created a water bubble around them. Juniper looked at the bubble and him in a strange look, not of rejection but of curiosity. Then, Aito, with a complicated movement, transformed the water of the bubble into vapor, colored vapor. It shaped an image, an old memory of his.
The picture was of Hogwarts but, it never looked like that before. The castle was had this golden glow, the sun behind its towers shimmered vividly and the lake had the darkest blue color.
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"Well, not really. I recently perfected it. You wanna know what it is?" he said, suddenly sitting up, like a child who's about to explain a new game to somebody.
Aito had never found anyone that was like him. He had friends, his sister, but he always stood out. This girl here.. Juniper.. maybe she felt like that too, sometimes.
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"Then..." he said, reforming the bubble above their heads to illustrate. "Then, you pick a memory."
This time it was her. As he saw her that first moment, her back turned on him, her hair waving and dancing with the air, resembling a river. And In front of her lay a grey view which made her stand out.
"You see what you desire the most." he said, not looking at her but at the bubble.
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In a moment the bubble was gone, and he stood up, carelessly shuffling his hair in the back of his head.
"I apologize. I usually aren't that straight-forward to a person I just met."
"Um... you dropped your quill." he said, picking it up.
She took it, her movements slow.
Aito made a swift turn saying "Well, I have to leave now, homework doesn't disappear that easily."
He felt stupid and he hadn't felt like that in years.
He started climbing up the stairs.
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"No, it's fine. It's just that... I don't know why I chose this memory, I didn't mean anything...by it." he said, looking at her.
He slowly got closer and sat back next to her, but this time a little further away. What had gotten into him?
"So.. are you from England?" he said, trying to stir up a conversation.
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He thought about it.
"What makes me different is that I don't know. You don't explain to to pthers why you're different, becaue it isn't something you can explain. It's your way of life, perception. It's a feeling in your heart." said Aito, getting serious.
"Also.." he continued, "the source of all that power lies in my eye." he said, pointing at the blue spot in his left eye.
"It's my window of seeing things differently."
He looked at her and caught her looking back. He didn't move his eyes, so that she could see it.
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"See, I'm not good with words."
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"What are you writing?" he asked, kneeling.
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The only thing left was the piece of paper. He unfolded it, and he read it.
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He looked deep inside the gate, where Junipers hair could still be seen.
It was okay. Even if they were never to meet again, he'd still have her poem and she'd still have his memory.
((Okay, I didn't mean it to go to flirting, when I wrote "See what you desire the most" I thought it was irrelevant to the image he was showing her:P Well, it turned out pretty good I think^^))
She patted the step next her, motioning for them to sit down.
"You tell me your secrets and I'll tell you mine."