Sleep Walking Catastrophe Closed

After the Masked Ball, nights had been anything but calm for the young Ravenclaw. And on this cold January night, the giants were still chasing her in her dreams. One was in the middle one of slapping her across the cheek when the imagined pain caused her to roll around her bed only to shake awake with a quickened breath. Blinking, she pulled up on her elbows to sit up in her bed. Still breathing quickly, she squinted to see a figure rising in the night. It was small and solid--not a ghost--and had brown hair. "Shauna?" she asked from her bed. But the figure paid her no attention and if anything seemed to pick up pace as she sleep walked out of the Sycamore dorm.

Placing her feet on the cold wood floor, Ruthie felt an obligation to follow and get Shauna back in her bed. (She'd heard rumors of the girl's sleep walking problem.) But she wasn't exactly one to break the rules and wander out at night, at least not alone. Looking around the room, her eyes settled on Lark, her closest friend her age. After all their earlier conversations, if there was ever a confidant, it was Lark. Pulling on a pair of black trainers and a polka dot dressing gown, she walked over to Lark's bed and nudged her, calling, "Lark, wake up! I think Shauna's sleep walking. You gotta help me get her back here."

It took a few seconds, but eventually Lark was up too and they formed a dynamic duo, stepping out of the dormitory quickly, but quietly. "There she is!" Ru said, pointing. And yet somehow with every step they took, Shauna just seemed to move faster and faster. No matter how much they called out her name, she would only move faster ahead.

Ruthie hesitated to cross the threshold onto the grounds, but they'd gotten this far. They couldn't just let Shauna go out on her own like this. For all they knew, she could be under the influence of a spell or a potion. It wouldn't be the first time. Eventually, they passed the greenhouses and came out to the Great Lake, one of Ruthie's favorite places. But this night, it was something eerie about it. Whether it was the hour or the darkness, Ruthie couldn't help feeling like something was off. "We need to get her out of here," Ru whispered to Lark, unsure exactly how to do that. It wasn't like she was strong as Jorah and could simply tackle the girl. And she still didn't know very many spells.

But once the Ravenclaw was in the water, Ruthie began to get seriously worried. Could you swim while sleepwalking? She doubted it. When Shauna was no longer visible, Ruthie started mumbling, "Come up, come up, come up, please." And she did when the school squid pushed her up. With a flush in her cheeks, Ruthie bolted across the shore, hoping Lark would follow or know a useful spell like Thora's Ferula. After all, she'd had enough tragedy for one year.

Ability used: Sixth Sense
Permission given from @Shauna Starr to join. Permission from @Lark Flaer to godmode. Also tagging @Boniface Murtagh MacTavish who will be jumping in later.

»»————-　✼ @Ruthie Greer ✼ 　————-««

Something had prickled at the back of Lark's mind... interrupting her dream of the horses back at her Gran's. Something she hadn't thought of since the start of Summer...

"R..Ru?" Lark's voice was a bit slow to respond, groggily lifting her head from her pillow, hand on her wand. A bit of a habit she had sleeping with it close by at all times after what happened at the Ball.

It was Ruthie. Her friend had woken her worrying over another student, one Lark hadn't met officially. Shauna? It didn't sound familiar to her ears but by the tone of Ruthie's voice something was wrong.

"-You gotta help me get her back here."

Lark had eagerly agreed, no one should be wandering around this late... and especially sleepwalking. With the way things had gone after the Ball, Lark's nerves were on edge as soon as her friend was on alert. Grabbing a sweatshirt and wand tucked up her sleeve, Lark hurriedly followed Ruthie as the two tracked down their fellow Ravenclaw.

"This feels..." Lark began to whisper but stopped as Ru pointed out Shauna. They had finally caught up to the girl but... she didn't pause. She didn't turn around. Nothing, despite their efforts. Not that Lark knew much about sleepwalking but it still seemed strange that nothing they did brought back the girl from her sleep like trance. As they passed by the greenhouses, a small tingle ran along Lark's spine. Maybe they should get someone... a Professor? No, she was just being paranoid.

"We need to get her out of here-"

Lark pulled her hands deeper into her sleeves and nodded in agreement. She watched Shauna carefully, worry swirling in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't right. "She can't just-" Lark's mouth fell open as she watched Shauna wander closer to the lake. Her fingers now feeling numb from the cool night air. Crossing her arms over her chest, Lark shoved them into her armpits hoping the heat would give her some feeling back.

"Ru..." Lark murmured not able to take her eyes off of Shauna. They should stop her, rush out and grab the girl. Something.. but her legs felt like stone. If they ran out now they could whisk her back to shore, pull her inside and warm her up before-

"N..no." Lark's breath caught in her chest almost choking her as she watched the girl's body slip under the water. She wanted to call out, no words would come. Especially not as she watched Shauna's body be pushed ashore by..."The squid!" Lark couldn't believe it. Sure they had been told about the things in the Lake but.. Ruthie was off, gone into the night rushing towards the shore and the young girl's body.

"Ruthie wait!" Lark hissed as she went to grab at her friend who was already out of reach, tearing across the grass. What if the squid tried to snag Ruthie in the process?? Breaking free from whatever cold gripped her muscles, Lark raced after Ruthie closing in on the girl's body. "Shauna!?" The name felt strange as it rolled off her tongue, unsure and shaky. Finally at the edge of the water Lark stood over the girl's body, the color draining from her face and even her eyes. Sure, there had been plenty of fire and screaming at the ball.. people running... but not this. Not a.. dead... body.. was she dead??

"Is she breathing??" Lark stammered unable to look away.

The sand was cold and finely grained exactly as it was in Arisaig, except at home Ruthie had the good sense not to wear shoes when on the beach. Shoes slowed her down, and while normally the squid would have been intriguing, now she was only keen on making sure Shana was okay. She was nearly there when she heard Lark call "Ruthie, wait!" exactly as Gris had at the ball. Before this year, she'd never exactly considered herself impulsive, but perhaps desperate circumstances had revealed this side of her. That, or friendship. It was easier to think of it as friendship.

So, when she reached her friend, she felt herself swallow hard as she looked over the body. She should have jumped immediately into doing something useful like checking for a pulse or breathing or even just seeing how cold her skin was, but something held her back. It was bloodless, much cleaner, and yet seeing a body on the floor made her mind flash back to Jorah's body on the ground on the ball. Her eyes closed in an immediate reflex and she could feel her breath quicken again and again as if it was the ball all over again. She just kneeled there for several seconds as the PTSD seemed to grip her person.

It was Lark's obvious, practical question, "Is she breathing??" that reminded her where she was. "I-I- don't know," she replied, eyes back open. Most of the people on the fish dock at home had some life guard experience, but that didn't typically start til age 15. Ruthie only knew what other people had done by what she had seen out in the mornings when her father's ship passed by. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she leaned down over Shauna's head to listen for breathing, but there didn't seem to be any. The blonde girl could only shake her her head 'no' he said as she lifted herself back into a kneeling position. As her body started to shake gently at the fear that she might really be losing someone this time, she looked over at Lark. "We have to do something! Get help," she called, reaching into her dressing gown pocket for her wand. Fumbling around like this was wasting time, she knew, but what else could she do? She prayed to Merlin she hadn't left her wand behind in the Sycamore dorm.

Interacting with @Lark Flaer & @Shauna Starr

✼ @Ruthie Greer @Boniface Murtagh MacTavish @Alaric Equinox ✼

An intense chill crept into Lark's spine and spread its way throughout her body, freezing her to the spot. Maybe it was the cold stinging her face.... or a surge of emotions but tears were starting to blur the young girl's vision as she stared down at Ruthie bending over Shauna's body. Say yes.... breath... Shauna..breath..Lark pleaded inside of her mind until it felt like her skull was going to explode from the pressure. No such luck... Ruthie had shook her head.

"We have to do something! Get help-"

Instinctively Lark's fingers tightened around the wand tucked into her sleeve, the tip resting against the inside of her wrist, almost calling to her. Right. Help. Get help.. A flash of the ball played in front of her vision.. Her, Dale standing on the dance floor.. Screaming.. Lark desperately wanting to help and being practically useless. The girl's finger's squeezed into fists. Not this time. She wouldn't be useless. Not again. Ruthie seemed to be fumbling with something, maybe her wand had fallen out while running? Lark wasn't sure but either way Ruthie was right, they needed help and now. Opening her right hand she let her wand slide along her forearm and into her palm. White knuckle gripping the cheery handle she thrust her wand into the sky above and clearly spoke out an incantation she hadn't anticipated using this early in her years...

"Periculum!" A shot of red sparks flew from the tip of her wand and into the night sky. Hopefully someone would see... there was no way they could rush back to the castle now and certainly couldn't carry Shauna back. If she could even make it that long...

"Please.. please." Lark begged in a whisper as tears streaked down her face worried they might be too late.

Interacting with @Shauna Starr @Ruthie Greer @Lark Flaer

His new position certainly was interesting, and he was still getting used to it. When he came back to Hogwarts for the first time since graduating, he never expected that one day he would be a Head of House. He loved Astronomy, and it would still be his passion, but his primary goal was always to help the students be the best that they could be. He wanted to see everyone succeed, and he wanted to be able to be there for the ones that needed extra help. It was his primary motivator for applying for the position. After the Masquerade ball on Halloween, he had an inkling that Hogwarts was just as dangerous as it was when he went to school. Perhaps, even more hazardous since they let in more of his kind and others.

He took in a deep breath and let it out as he looked at the now mostly empty Astronomy Office. He didn’t regret his decision, but he knew he was going to miss it. He had just started getting used to teaching the students, but in the end, he would be able to do so much more for all of them in this position… He hoped anyway he thought to himself as he shut and magically locked the door to the Astronomy tower. He made his way down the stairs; this was just the final look to make sure he had not missed anything that needed to go to his new office. The previous Astronomy professor had not been let down by his meticulous nature, so he left empty-handed.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, a red flash of sparks caught his eye out of the window. Instinct immediately kicked in and he took off at a dead sprint, adrenaline flushed through his system as he removed his blackthorn wand from his robes. His eyes dilated, causing his normal soft vermillion eyes to become consumed by abyssal, black pools ringed in a molten red. Someone was in danger, and he wasn’t sure if he would need to rip something apart or cast a spell, but either way, he was ready.

As he sprinted towards the red sparks, he noted no smell of blood, so whoever was hurt was not bleeding, which at least gave him a small spark of hope… that would die out just as quickly as it appeared as he saw three small figures at the edge of the lake. Two of the figures kneeling by a third body that seemed to be unmoving. If Alaric could pale more, he would as he approached what he now could see were three girls.

“What happened?” He kept his voice as calm as he could as he stopped near Shauna’s head. He would listen to them as he sprung into action, gently placing a slightly clawed hand on the girl’s stomach. Bodies at rest breath from their lower diaphragm, he would have an easier time feeling for faint breathing there. He withdrew his pocket watch and opened it holding the glass under the girl’s nose. “Please fog up… please.” He pleaded softly under his breath, but the dhampir would ask in vain as the glass remained clear, and he felt not even the tiniest movement of breath. Then he took his hand from her stomach and expertly, possibly too expertly, moved his fingers to her jugular. If anyone could sense a blood flow under her pale skin, it surely would be him. He swallowed hard, moving his eyes to the two Ravenclaws. “I’m sorry…” He removed his winter cloak and handed it to the girls. “Please wrap up before you freeze.” His cloak could no doubt cover both of them, and he had one death on his hands tonight. He wasn’t about to tally this up to three.

What did you do when something like this happened? He was going to need the other three heads of houses to help him handle this tragedy because he didn’t know what to do. He knew the body would need to be moved to the hospital wing even though there was nothing that could be done. Still, at this moment,  Alaric could not bring himself to move her just yet as he stared down at a face that should be full of light and laughter...

In the midst of all this chaos and disbelief, Ruthie was glad that Lark was intelligent. While the blonde had been fumbling through her pockets for her wand, Lark it seemed already had a grasp on her own. Ruthie's head turned when she heard the other girl yell out, "Periculum!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the red sparks shoot up clearly and big enough to be a symbol for help. The young Ravenclaw recalled struggling in the first lesson where that had been taught, but thankfully her peer had been paying attention. She casted so effectively, it was almost beautiful.

Now, all they had to do was wait, which it turned out, would be the absolute worst part of the evening. There were a few seconds where Ruthie wanted to reach out with her palms and try to resuscitate her friend--if that was even an option--but she couldn't do it. She kept seeing Jorah and Dymph on the floor. Blinking, her breathing quickened. Meanwhile, she overheard Lark's pleading, just about a whisper in tone: "Please.. please." Ruthie reached over involuntarily to grab Lark's hand. She wasn't about to go through this alone again. "Help will come, help has to come," she said, somewhat shakily as if she were willing the words into existence.

But help did come. It came in the form of a dhampir she only knew from Astronomy Class and who had recently been named their head of house: Professor Alaric Equinox. "I woke up when I heard a noise and saw Shauna sleep walking out of our dormitory, at least I think she was sleep walking," Ruthie began, careful not to mention the forgetfulness potion debacle earlier in the year or the fact that she was still seeing giants in her dreams, "We followed her to try and get her to come back, but it was like she didn't hear us and she didn't stop..." Her words trailed off while she eyed what the Professor was up to. He had pulled out a pocket watch and held up to the girl's face, and waited. But no breath came.

When he started, "I'm sorry..." Ruthie couldn't believe it. This wasn't happening. After all she went through in the ballroom only months before, she was not about to lose a friend. As abrupt as Shauna had seemed on first impression, Ruthie had warmed to her presence over the year. "But she's my friend..." Ruthie stated in disbelief as if their relationship could somehow bring the girl back to life. With her right hand, she grabbed the Professor's cloak, and pulled one side of it around her back, leaving the other for Lark.

Running her tongue along the inside of her teeth, she knew she should say thank you for the cloak and for coming, but she couldn't quite. She was too shaken. Numerous questions raced across her brain. Was he sure? How did he know he was sure? What did they do now? How did this even happen. But she just squeezed Lark's hand as she kneel there, dumbfounded. At the Ball, she'd charged into action at the prospects of her friends' peril, but now that the peril was over, what was there to do? Outside of finding her wand, that is. As the night wind swirled around them, Ruthie felt a salty tear fall on the back of her hand. She was crying. Rubbing a fingers over where the tear at hit, she considered the evening's events. "I should have tackled her," she muttered, the guilt creeping in, just as it had in the aftermath of the Ball. They were only halfway through the school year, but the blonde already had been exposed to a crippling gilt that was likely to follow her through her Hogwarts career.

Interacting with @Lark Flaer & @Alaric Equinox

✼ @Ruthie Greer @Alaric Equinox ✼

Fingers starting to tremble as they gripped her cherry wand, Lark knelt back down by Shauna and Ruthie. She could only hope that someone had caught sight of her spell... Squeezing Ruthie's hand as she felt her friend grab at her clammy hand, Lark tried to manage a small smile. Her stomach meanwhile was churning angrily making a wave of nausea crash over the girl.

"R..right." Lark managed to whisper back to her friend. Ruthie was right.. someone had to come... Time seemed to drag on and on as the girl's body lay between the two of them. A part of her wanted to set a hand on the girl, hold her hand.. something... offer some sort of comfort but would it really matter? Death was absolutely not something she was acquainted with. What was the proper way to act? Something was moving towards them, footsteps in the night.

Clutching her wand, Lark turned her attention in the direction of the noise and saw their Astronomy Professor rushing over. She watched silently as Ruthie gave their tale of trailing after Shauna. Was he checking for breath? Lark made note of all the Professor's movements, logging them away in her mind in case... well.... in case Hogwarts threw anymore at her friends than it already had. The words that flowed solemnly from the Professor struck Lark in the gut. Her eyes immediately set on Ruthie. 'This.. isn't good.. She thought staring at her friend. After the Ball and now.. this.

"But she's my friend..."

Another invisible fist twisted Lark's insides and made her eyes tear up at Ruthie's reaction. The girl's eyes paled to an almost clear gray, color draining from her hair. She didn't even know Shauna... Ruthie had actually been friends with her. Lark found herself feeling guilty for not having spoken to the girl as if it could've changed anything. It was almost as if he body was moving on its own, taking the other side of the cloak and pulling it over her shoulder. Cold? Was it? She felt like she didn't even notice now.

"Professor... what..." Lark paused as she stared down at the girl's lifeless body. "What do we do..." She felt helpless as she raised her eyes to settle on the dark haired man in front of them. "Should... should we.. move her?" As if in shock Lark looked back to the girl and shrugged off the cloak. Shauna would get cold right? Sure.. he had said cold... she would be cold. The girl wasn't thinking clearly but for some reason even knowing Shauna was gone... it made sense to cover her? Yes, cover her. Hurriedly yanking off her sweatshirt Lark laid it over Shauna, tucking part of the sleeves under her.

"She'll be cold. We have to do something. We have to get her inside. She's cold." The young Ravenclaw methodically moved her hands over the girl wanting to straighten the sweatshirt out over her arms, smoothing it down repeatedly. Shock had completely taken over the young girl's senses. "She's cold." She murmured again staring blankly at Shauna's body, her hand rubbing at the girl's arm still.

Interacting with | @Ruthie Greer | @Lark Flaer |

The girl’s words were an icy stake to the heart. His heart was already broken for them; they had gone through so much already, and now this. The vermillion took back their ground in his eyes as he looked from Shauna to Ruthie and Lark. “I know she was your friend, and I know there is nothing I can say right now to change anything. I remember when this happened to me when I was little and there was nothing that could make it better.” He watched Lark smooth her sweater onto Shauna to try and keep her warm. It was true the child was not thinking straight, but her friend was now gone, and she was in shock; this was not surprising to him.

If Lark allowed him to, he would reach forward and very gently take her hands into his clawed ones trying to break the cycle of her actions and snap her mind back into reality. “We will bring her to the hospital wing. I will carry her very carefully, and we will allow the nurse to do what he needs to do to take the best care of her that he can. Then, seeing as I am now your new head of house, I will escort you two back to the common room and get you something warm to drink. There we can talk more about tonight if you want” He looked again from Lark to Ruthie, releasing Lark’s hands if he had them in the first place. “Do not blame yourself even if you had stopped this tonight you wouldn’t have been able to stand sentry every night for the rest of her life. Neither of you is responsible for this, and Shauna certainly would not have wanted you to blame yourselves.”

He needed to get these girls inside Lark was being irrational, and she was bound to get sick if she stayed out, especially if she didn’t accept her half of his cloak. “I am going to carry her now, and I want you two to follow me with my cloak, please utilize it.” The last part was aimed at Lark, but he was hoping Ruthie could help be persuasive in its use as well. As long as there were no more objections, Alaric would, with utmost respect and care, slide his arms underneath Shauna. One arm would be behind her shoulders and one arm under her knees. He would position her head to lay against his shoulder as if she were only sleeping. If only that were actually the case. If he had been allowed to do this, he would stand with her and start walking towards the castle, making sure Ruthie and Lark were in following suit. 

Nothing could make it better. Ruthie just looked up at the Professor's face, partly in fear and partly in some kind of undercover gratitude. She was a straight-talking person herself so the fact that the dhampir didn't try to sugar coat it definitely was something she appreciated. And yet, something inside didn't feel quite right. It wasn't the rush at the thought of Dymph or Jorah nearly dying, but helplessness that was much more still. "It is cold," Ruthie agreed softly, moving her focus from the girl on the ground to the very situation itself. Maybe the girl was the situation and the situation the girl. Perhaps that was all an 11 year old girl could comprehend of such tragedy.

As Lark offered the cold girl her sweater, she had also asked a truly practical question: what came next? What could they possibly do now? Thankfully, Lark's well-cast Perriculum had garnered the attention of a teacher and a teacher who had managed to come down very quickly and was able to speak the truth kindly. Ruthie listened attentively to the Professor's plan: Hospital Wing first and then the Common Room, where they could talk. But what was there to say? The Professor just said there was nothing he could say to make it better. So, how could words heal? Could words possess any magic at all? "Okay," Ruthie acquiesced, her normally bubbly manner now stilted by the difficulty of the current situation.

The Professor's directions were stay carefully underneath his cloak. Ruthie had already found a comfortable place inside it and waved at Lark to grab the other half. Ru was more than accustomed to the cold of the Highlands at night, but she suspected it was this new cold--this emotional cold--the Professor was referring to. That, or their general protection. She had heard there were creatures that lived within these woods, creatures who might be misunderstood and might misunderstand them in turn. "Take this, Lark," she egged on her friend, wondering if she too felt the weight of the loss. She probably did from the way she stuttered, but they could get through it quite literally together.

Covered up under the cloak, she watched the Head of House scoop up Shauna with a kind of gentle care. It was a kind of gesture that made the tears slow, if only just. She didn't really know the Professor outside of Astronomy, but in the moment, she decided he was a good teacher. So reverent. So fast. So kind. He even put Shauna's head up against his shoulder. If the circumstances had been different, it could have been a child dozing off in her father's arms. With her wand arm, she tried to dry the tears from her eyes somewhat ineffectively. As they began their walk towards the castle, Ru considered the Professor's earlier words: no not blame yourselves. The idea of this cut her sharp as this was exactly what she had done after the chaos of the Ball. In fact, it had been Lark who'd stepped in that time to help her realize the events were beyond her control, not unlike this one. And so it was difficult to keep the guilt at bay. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, "and thank you." Sorry for not stopping Shauna, for being here, for crying like this, for the whole affair, but also grateful for the Professor who'd appeared to handle it in the most gracious manner possible.

Interacting with @Alaric Equinox & @Lark Flaer. I think we can wrap this up so if one of you wants to close and tag it as 'finished,' that's fine with me.