21 Jun 2018, 12:58
Facing Fears
Vibrant hues of deep crimson and vermillion shrunk below the horizon, twilight pulling an inky black blanket over the heavens, until sky and lake bled together, starlight and a silver slip of moonlight the only source of light, so far out from the castle. It wasn't yet past curfew, but closing in, the witching hour for troublemakers and rule breakers. But Maisy Dane, Prefect for Slytherin House (and still quite shocked to the point), could concentrate on nothing but the shady silhouette of a certain willow tree, a small distance from where she stood.
It hadn't been long at all since she had come toe to… bough… with the Whomping Willow. On days when the clouds sulked grey and rain drenched the wizarding world, her wrist ached something fierce, and every time she saw Constantine, even despite the fact his cut had healed without incident, she couldn't help but see the splash of scarlet across his face… He was fine. She knew he was, and he never once blamed her for what happened... But the guilt clung like static, and even now, thinking back on it, tears welled behind her eyes, blinked away in frustration.
They didn't talk about it much. Maisy didn't want to. That was the day she learned that people could be genuinely cruel and hateful. The day she learned what the bad sort of Slytherin looked like and reliving it just wasn't on her agenda… And yet every time she laid eyes on those whip-like branches, and knotted, gnarled beams, her mind revolved back like a film in reverse and heart pounding wildly in her chest, she felt the weight of panic closing down like a vice.
It was tiresome. Being afraid. And the guilt was worse yet. She didn't care for the feelings at all. Hogwarts held great mysteries and fascinating secrets of all kinds, some more incredible than she could drum up in her wildest dreams... And she couldn't bring herself to explore any of them because was scared of a big, mean tree??
Wand outstretched in front of her, a small, incandescent globe of soft yellow lighting up the tip, she surveyed the tree, swaying ever so slightly in the muted rays of the pale moon, deceptively innocent. Two steps inched her just slightly down the incline, a few feet closer, but her knees quaked violently and she had to stop to catch the breath that exploded from her lungs in a sharp exhale.
It hadn't been long at all since she had come toe to… bough… with the Whomping Willow. On days when the clouds sulked grey and rain drenched the wizarding world, her wrist ached something fierce, and every time she saw Constantine, even despite the fact his cut had healed without incident, she couldn't help but see the splash of scarlet across his face… He was fine. She knew he was, and he never once blamed her for what happened... But the guilt clung like static, and even now, thinking back on it, tears welled behind her eyes, blinked away in frustration.
They didn't talk about it much. Maisy didn't want to. That was the day she learned that people could be genuinely cruel and hateful. The day she learned what the bad sort of Slytherin looked like and reliving it just wasn't on her agenda… And yet every time she laid eyes on those whip-like branches, and knotted, gnarled beams, her mind revolved back like a film in reverse and heart pounding wildly in her chest, she felt the weight of panic closing down like a vice.
It was tiresome. Being afraid. And the guilt was worse yet. She didn't care for the feelings at all. Hogwarts held great mysteries and fascinating secrets of all kinds, some more incredible than she could drum up in her wildest dreams... And she couldn't bring herself to explore any of them because was scared of a big, mean tree??
Wand outstretched in front of her, a small, incandescent globe of soft yellow lighting up the tip, she surveyed the tree, swaying ever so slightly in the muted rays of the pale moon, deceptively innocent. Two steps inched her just slightly down the incline, a few feet closer, but her knees quaked violently and she had to stop to catch the breath that exploded from her lungs in a sharp exhale.
Last edited by Serena Towers on 21 Jun 2018, 13:16, edited 1 time in total.
23 Jun 2018, 15:45
Facing Fears
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🆂🅻🆈🆃🅷🅴🆁🅸🅽 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
"Careful," Sebastian said from behind Maisy, his voice quite loud in the relative silence. "You're getting pretty close."
The male Slytherin prefect had been on another patrol, ensuring students were returning to their dorms and preparing for curfew, when he had seen a lone individual approaching the large tree. Initially, Sebastian hadn't known it was Maisy, instead thinking it had been some bullheaded Gryffindor trying to prove something to someone over some stupid dare. But, he was surprised to see his fellow prefect, and felt it was worthwhile walking over to see what was happening.
Probably would have waited to see what the Gryff did, Sebastian thought to himself, a faint smirk on his lips. And 'might' have taken him or her to the nurse after.
Sebastian looked past Maisy, one eyebrow raised as he considered the deceptively deadly tree further up the way. The thick branches spanned many feet, dozens, and the smaller ones swished hypnotically in the wind. Were it not for the knowledge of the Whomping Willow itself, Sebastian might have supposed it was just like any other in the area, despite looking quite warped on the trunk...
It looks like a mass of vines, Sebastian considered. No wonder if can pack a punch.
"Sorry to interrupt," The boy said, looking back to Maisy. He regarded her, one eyebrow still raised. "I saw your lumos from higher up, near the path... and figured I'd come see who was out here, approaching the willow."
Sebastian put his hands into his pockets, his thick coat tight around him, to hold off the chill. The boy didn't have his wand out, nor did he necessarily need a light to move in the growing darkness; he was quite comfortable at night, and his eyes adapted easily enough, and it helped when not looking directly at bright sources - natural night vision and all.
"What are you doing out here? Did you hear students, or...?"
Sebastian Leeds
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
23 Jun 2018, 16:17
Facing Fears
At the sudden voice, splintering the silence of nightfall, Maisy gave a squeak, jumping like a cat. Turning, she came face to face with the Slytherin boy and softly, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Goodness, you scared me! How in the world did you even get down here without a light? You must have wicked vision!"
Shifting back to the tree, Maisy have a little shake of her head at his question, and her eyes followed the gangly trail of nobbled, twisted vines and branches, razor-like leaves fluttering as fast as hummingbird wings as the wind stirred through them.
"I wasn't... That is, I don't mean to approach it. I just..." Biting her lip, her eyes drifted back, falling on the Prefect badge pinned to his robes. It was probably a safe bet he wasn't a part of Luke's brigade of idiots... "A few weeks ago, some of the older boys... They told me there were fairies in the willow. I believed them, and just about got crushed to powder. Me and my friend. I thought if..."
Chewing the edge of her nail, her shoulders bounced in a shrug, "I thought maybe if I stood her for a little while, I wouldn't so scared of it. Seems sort of silly, now... It's not really the tree that scares me."
Smiling dryly, she turned and extended her free hand, "I know we've met, but... Not really officially. I'm Maisy."
Shifting back to the tree, Maisy have a little shake of her head at his question, and her eyes followed the gangly trail of nobbled, twisted vines and branches, razor-like leaves fluttering as fast as hummingbird wings as the wind stirred through them.
"I wasn't... That is, I don't mean to approach it. I just..." Biting her lip, her eyes drifted back, falling on the Prefect badge pinned to his robes. It was probably a safe bet he wasn't a part of Luke's brigade of idiots... "A few weeks ago, some of the older boys... They told me there were fairies in the willow. I believed them, and just about got crushed to powder. Me and my friend. I thought if..."
Chewing the edge of her nail, her shoulders bounced in a shrug, "I thought maybe if I stood her for a little while, I wouldn't so scared of it. Seems sort of silly, now... It's not really the tree that scares me."
Smiling dryly, she turned and extended her free hand, "I know we've met, but... Not really officially. I'm Maisy."
23 Jun 2018, 16:49
Facing Fears
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🆂🅻🆈🆃🅷🅴🆁🅸🅽 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
Sebastian listened, shrugging at the mention of his vision. While he did have perfect sight, it just came down to not night blinding himself, really. Not to mention being able to move without a light source was more useful than relying on a spell or wand. There wouldn't always be one handy.
"Older boys," The boy said, a sneer on his face. He disliked some of the older students significantly, partly because of things like this. Using prior knowledge to trick first years was petty. "Do you know their names? You never know, things might happen and they might be on the receiving end of a prefect."
The Irish boy looked to the tree, a frown on his face.
"I don't recall reading anything about fairies," He said simply, smirking. "Why would you want to look at fairies, anyway? But, at least you know now. A shame you and your friend had to get hurt, though..."
Sebastian walked forward, passing the other Slytherin prefect, before stopping on a patch of grass several meters closer to the willow. As a result, the tree began reacting, the branches creaking and groaning, suddenly coming to life and moving at the prospect of approaching prey. But, undeterred, Sebastian continued another few steps, even as the willow began winding up for an attack...
"I'm Sebastian," The boy said simply, glancing back to Maisy. "Come on, stand beside me. Trust me."
After several moments, there was a powerful whoosh of air, as a long, warped branch came smashing down - and with a thunderous thud, it kicked up dirt and grass, impacting right in front of the students... but, the branch fell short, as the willow's extremity hit the ground several feet in front of the pair.
"There's no reason to be afraid of something when you know its weakness," Sebastian muttered, eyes narrowed as he stared at the large tree. "You were tricked. I'm sure you weren't the first, and you won't be the last. But, kids like that, they're cowards, and they make sure it's as safe for them as possible... see?"
Sebastian pulled a hand free, pointing to a series of stones that were placed in the ground. When paying attention, they formed a suspiciously placed line, like a safety marker. No doubt some students had found the safe spot to stand, to tempt the willow into attacking, while being effectively out of harms way; and it had been similar students who had mentioned the rocks to Sebastian, giving him knowledge of what to keep an eye out for, should he ever need to know - emergencies, or something, he supposed.
"So... what do you plan to do about them? And how can I help?"
Sebastian Leeds
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
23 Jun 2018, 18:04
Facing Fears
"I... I'm not sure I should say." Maisy answered, frowning tentatively, "Most of them... They stopped right after. I think they were rather embarrassed. I don't think they expected anyone to get hurt. And the only one who... Well, he just doesn't like me, onacount of I'm Muggleborn." At the start it had seemed so strange to use that term... Now it came second nature, as she imagined, most of those new and exciting things about the world would...
Her smile brightened at his question and she shook her head, "I think it's rather a bit to do with being a girl... They seemed so fanciful and lovely. But there was definitely not anything lovely in that--" As Sebastian started towards the tree, Maisy gave a start, "Oh! Careful!"
And then came the unthinkable. As he asked her to come stand beside him, Maisy paled. She couldn't, she absolutely, positively couldn't... The tree began to wave back and forth with a dangerous irritability, then suddenly, like swatting at a fly, it swung down. As she darted forward, Maisy screamed.
"Look out!!" And as the tree slammed into the earth, she slapped her hands over her eyes.
But as she unpeeled her fingers apart a few seconds later, she was shocked to see the branches had come to rest just short of the prefect. Swallowing, Maisy stared, wide eyed.
"How did you..." Then she saw it. The circle of stones, and stepping a little closer, she breathed out, "Brilliant..."
Inching forward until she came to stand beside him, she smiled gingerly, "You... Why would you want to help?"
Her smile brightened at his question and she shook her head, "I think it's rather a bit to do with being a girl... They seemed so fanciful and lovely. But there was definitely not anything lovely in that--" As Sebastian started towards the tree, Maisy gave a start, "Oh! Careful!"
And then came the unthinkable. As he asked her to come stand beside him, Maisy paled. She couldn't, she absolutely, positively couldn't... The tree began to wave back and forth with a dangerous irritability, then suddenly, like swatting at a fly, it swung down. As she darted forward, Maisy screamed.
"Look out!!" And as the tree slammed into the earth, she slapped her hands over her eyes.
But as she unpeeled her fingers apart a few seconds later, she was shocked to see the branches had come to rest just short of the prefect. Swallowing, Maisy stared, wide eyed.
"How did you..." Then she saw it. The circle of stones, and stepping a little closer, she breathed out, "Brilliant..."
Inching forward until she came to stand beside him, she smiled gingerly, "You... Why would you want to help?"
24 Jun 2018, 16:34
Facing Fears
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🆂🅻🆈🆃🅷🅴🆁🅸🅽 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
The willow seemed to show some kind of realization, as the long branch slowly receded back to place, once again moving slowly in the wind. Sebastian looked down, seeing some dirt on his robe, which he casually brushed off as he turned to Maisy.
"Remember, knowing the weakness takes away the fear," Sebastian said, eyes serious, as he looked at the other Slytherin. "And if you have a chance to get a little back... so much the better, right?"
Absently Sebastian wondered what his parents would think of his conversing with a Muggle-born, considering they were quite traditional Pure-bloods. Perhaps that was why the boy was enjoying things presently, just to spite them; or it might have simply been his seeing an opportunity to assist another Slytherin, a prefect no less, and get some bullies back... either way, the motivation was as important for Sebastian, and he listened to Maisy's next question.
"Well," Sebastian said as he put one shoe on a marker rock. "I figure you're a Slytherin, and a fellow Prefect, and I'm not very tolerant of bullies... so, what reason is there not to help?"
The boy slowly pushed the rock forward, rolling it several feet ahead, closer to the willow. He glanced to the other rocks and stones, one eyebrow raised. He wondered if Maisy caught on to the idea he had in mind, but decided to voice it anyway, just the same.
"So, did they walk up to the willow first? Perhaps to show it was safe?" Sebastian asked. He suspected the bullies had stopped close to the rocks, before encouraging Maisy and her friend onward. "So, let's say they did it again to someone else... like me. And the rocks were mysteriously closer?"
He smirked.
"If only there was a way to draw them out... any ideas?"
Sebastian Leeds
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
24 Jun 2018, 17:41
Facing Fears
A brow lifted, not in suspicion, but in surprise. She rarely tried to judge anyone without knowing them, but there was a certain... air... to the other Prefect that felt reminiscent of the others in Slytherin. The Pure Bloods, who came from well monied families in big, fancy houses. She was a little surprised, honestly, that he was even talking to her...
Smiling gingerly, she nodded, "That's awfully nice of you... But I'm not so sure--" but she trailed off as he started to shift the rocks and blinking, her smile faded. Her eyes trailed up to the tree. It was only a few inches further... Enough that the tree branches would only just whip at anyone who crossed the line.
"That's... that's exactly what they did. But I don't know if..." She wasn't vindictive, but in her mind she could see Constantine... The gash on his cheek. She remembered how it felt, telling Constantine she couldn't be his friend.... How it almost ruined everything and a twinge of frustration burrowing in deep, roiling within her...
"I think I know of a way we might get him to come down. He... he doesn't want me talking to anyone. He keeps saying Mud..." Dropping her voice, she whispered, "Mudbloods shouldn't have friends. If he thought I was hanging around with you... He'd be pretty mad. You could write a note saying you would meet me down here..." It was what she'd done to meet Constantine in secret, "And I could pretend I left it laying around in the common room... But I..." Looking to the tree again, she frowned, "I don't want anyone to get hurt..."
Smiling gingerly, she nodded, "That's awfully nice of you... But I'm not so sure--" but she trailed off as he started to shift the rocks and blinking, her smile faded. Her eyes trailed up to the tree. It was only a few inches further... Enough that the tree branches would only just whip at anyone who crossed the line.
"That's... that's exactly what they did. But I don't know if..." She wasn't vindictive, but in her mind she could see Constantine... The gash on his cheek. She remembered how it felt, telling Constantine she couldn't be his friend.... How it almost ruined everything and a twinge of frustration burrowing in deep, roiling within her...
"I think I know of a way we might get him to come down. He... he doesn't want me talking to anyone. He keeps saying Mud..." Dropping her voice, she whispered, "Mudbloods shouldn't have friends. If he thought I was hanging around with you... He'd be pretty mad. You could write a note saying you would meet me down here..." It was what she'd done to meet Constantine in secret, "And I could pretend I left it laying around in the common room... But I..." Looking to the tree again, she frowned, "I don't want anyone to get hurt..."
25 Jun 2018, 15:16
Facing Fears
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🆂🅻🆈🆃🅷🅴🆁🅸🅽 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
"If they get hurt, it's from their own actions. What they bring with them."
The idea Maisy proposed was very workable, and sounded like it would bait the bullies very effectively. From what Sebastian was able to glean, the older students were traditionalists who felt they could flaunt their status and put others down. And while the Irish boy wasn't necessarily a bleeding heart for Muggles or Muggle-borns, he did feel that everyone had their purpose, whether it be in a position of strength or weakness.
Survival of the fittest.
"Don't repeat that insult," Sebastian said, eyes sincere as he stepped forward, putting a hand on Maisy's shoulder. "You are a witch, you have been admitted to a magical school, and you are earning your place... don't forget that."
Looking back to the willow, and the rising moon, Sebastian inclined his head. It would be time for curfew very soon, and regardless of prefect status, the pair would be required to at least return to the castle proper. Besides, tonight the plan of placing the letter would take place, and Maisy would bring the bait to the trap...
"We need to head back," Sebastian mused, as he started walking away from the dark tree behind him. "Place the note and meet me here earlier... and we'll handle this."
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
The following night...
The following night...
The night was clear, the clouds glowing from the moonlight, which had just started to rise above the distant hills and trees. A lone figure waited at the willow, dressed in simple school robes, though this time the prefect badge was missing. With hands in pockets, Sebastian waited, silver-blue eyes narrowed, face a stern expression of concentration and preparation; he was going to make sure these bullies didn't do anything like what they had to Maisy and her friend again...
Hands in pockets, the boy looked up when he saw an approaching figure. He hoped it was Maisy, because time was starting to get away from them, and there was a few small things to prepare before the confrontation began.
"Did it go well?"
Sebastian Leeds
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
25 Jun 2018, 15:27
Facing Fears
As she left the willow that night, Maisy wasn't entirely convinced it was a good plan... But it was, decidedly, a better plan tham continuing the remainder of the school year looking in fear over her shoulder. Luke had been a gnawing point of pressure for weeks, and had nearly ruined her friendship woth Constantine... And it had to stop, or it was only going to get worse.
Talking had done nothing, and she wouldn't risk anyone else getting hurt because she didn't at least try... And Sebastian seemed genuine enough. He'd insisted she was worthy of respect as a witch and she couldn't see him lying about that, just to mess with her...
That hadn't preventing the nerves, however, and even as she made her way down through the darkening night to the tree again, she felt a surge of uncertainty, not without a trace of guilt, at what they were planning to do. Her hands shook, with fear, with trepidation... and not without the barest touch of excitement. She didn't want to see anything bad happen, not even to Luke, but she couldn't ignore the feeling that him getting his just dues was all too appropriate.
Sebastian was different. He was, if she were honest, a little scary... but she was glad she had run into him, even if it was only because she would never have managed to be so brave on her own.
As she approached, she tucked her hands into the pockets of her robes and nodded, "He saw it... He wasn't happy, either. Threw the note in the fireplace, and then I overheard him telling his friends he'd make sure I learned my lesson this time." Chewing the inner lining of her cheek, she glimpsed up at the tree, a grey silhouette against the ashen sky, "What's next?"
Talking had done nothing, and she wouldn't risk anyone else getting hurt because she didn't at least try... And Sebastian seemed genuine enough. He'd insisted she was worthy of respect as a witch and she couldn't see him lying about that, just to mess with her...
That hadn't preventing the nerves, however, and even as she made her way down through the darkening night to the tree again, she felt a surge of uncertainty, not without a trace of guilt, at what they were planning to do. Her hands shook, with fear, with trepidation... and not without the barest touch of excitement. She didn't want to see anything bad happen, not even to Luke, but she couldn't ignore the feeling that him getting his just dues was all too appropriate.
Sebastian was different. He was, if she were honest, a little scary... but she was glad she had run into him, even if it was only because she would never have managed to be so brave on her own.
As she approached, she tucked her hands into the pockets of her robes and nodded, "He saw it... He wasn't happy, either. Threw the note in the fireplace, and then I overheard him telling his friends he'd make sure I learned my lesson this time." Chewing the inner lining of her cheek, she glimpsed up at the tree, a grey silhouette against the ashen sky, "What's next?"
27 Jun 2018, 14:48
Facing Fears
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🆂🅻🆈🆃🅷🅴🆁🅸🅽 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
The approaching figure was familiar, as Maisy came into view. Sebastian was glad, she was earlier than he expected, which meant a little more time to prepare. Likely the bullies were already on the way, probably trying to do the same thing as the other two students - namely, prepare and lay an ambush. But, the Irish boy was patient, he could play the long game, so having this opportunity to enjoy a little bit of fun in a fairly quick time frame was good.
"Good, glad you're on time."
Maisy proceeded to explain the plan had worked, how Luke was gathering his friends and planning to interrupt the students. Considering how riled up the older boy sounded, Sebastian supposed he would be very prone to persuasion and being manipulated into making mistakes; and when he did that, there would be justice for Maisy and her friend, and a lesson Luke wouldn't soon forget...
"What spells do you know?" Sebastian asked, eyebrow raised as he glanced behind her, up the pathway that led to Hogwarts. "I need to know what we have at our disposal. Ideally, Flipendo would be a preference for what's to come, but we can make do with other spells..."
So far the coast was clear, with no indication the bullies were on the way just yet. No doubt their Lumos orbs would appear soon enough, but for now the pair had time.
"I'll be the bait, so when you're ready, find a good spot to stay hidden," Sebastian glanced to some nearby rocks, large enough to serve the purpose, and some nearby bushes. "I'll handle the others, when it's time, so you be ready to give back to Luke, okay?"
Sebastian Leeds
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8
Sta: 5 | Agi: 8 | Str: 1 | Con: 7 | Arc: 6 | Acc: 8