Rotting Blossoms PV X. Alptraum finished

How long had it been since the Blossom Ball? How long had it been since she went into the forest? How long had it been since the dolls were found? A year? Maybe a few months? She didn't really know. Sometimes when she thought about it, it felt like it happened ages ago. Sometimes it felt like it happened recently. And really, time was not important, what was important though, was the fact that the events actually happened. Sometimes she woke up, not knowing the time nor date; not knowing why she was here, not knowing her purpose. Thats a horrible thing isn't it? Not knowing your purpose in life.

Xailah had no intention of running into anyone, who was involved in the mishap. Not today. She wasn't even looking. It was purely a coincidence, that Xailah and Illowy both happened to be out on the same day, at the same time. Or maybe it was fate. Maybe this was supposed to happen. Maybe this was the plan of a higher power. In any case, Xailah didn't mean to discover Illowy, leaning against a tree trunk.

Xailah was out and about with her cat Schrödinger. The fat grey feline was wrapped tightly around her neck, as if he were a fox stole. She had come to the lake- well, really there was no reason as to why she was here, perhaps she just felt like it. She had plans to relax, maybe even take a quick nap, before going along with her day. In fact, when she noticed movement from behind the tree, she was just going to leave. But they turned around.

So now she couldn't leave. Xailah stopped moving, and stood there in silence. It had been too long. This was the first person she had seen, that was involved in the Blossom Ball incident. A part of her prayed that the girl behind the tree would not recognize her. A part of her wished that this girl would turn back around without a word. But she was curious. And in the end curiosity always won. "Illowy?" Her voice was soft. She sounded cautious, almost as if she was making sure that the girl was actually here. "Fancy seeing you here. How have you been?"

Of all the people Illowy thought she might see today, she hardly expected to see Xailah, with her over-stuffed puffball of a cat draped dramatically around her neck. For a long moment, the two girl just kept still, looking over each other. Illowy was sure she hadn't even seen the other girl since the ball... not that she ever really went looking for her in the first place. Really the only other person she'd spoken to since the event was Dinara, and that girl had all but totally repressed the memory; so it wasn't much help to really talk to her about it.

Between the pair of them, Xailah spoke first. Tentitively, Illowy tucked a bit of hair behind her ear, giving a slight nod, "I've been okay... how are you? I havn't seen you around too much." Illowy felt so awkward. Partially because she hadn't seen the older Griffindor since the previous year, and partially because Illowy still felt incredibly socially awkward talking to people around her own age... unless of course it was to be cold towards them. Communication was so much easier when you could be cold and distant as opposed to being any level of warm or friendly. At least, in Illowy's opinion.

Xailah watched as the other girl moved a curly lock of hair behind her ear. Xailah subconsciously mirrored the action, before shoving her gloved hands deep into the pockets of her robes. She didn't know what to think of this accidental meeting. But she did know that this was not a bad thing. "I'm okay. Thank you for asking." This was a lie. She was pretty far from 'okay.' The inky little daggers that she called pupils, grew, leaving behind two thin rings of gold. She didn't feel awkward, but she was tense. "Ah. Yes. I've been...busy. What about you? What have you been up to?" This was true. She was busy. She had been hunting for them. The giants that got away. The ones that started it all.

"Have you spoken to anyone else from the incident?" She was straightforward. She didn't work her way around things. That wasn't how her mind worked usually. She had questions, and she desperately needed answers. She hoped that Illowy had at least some information regarding what had later happened to the people involved. She looked towards the Great Lake. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, in fact she wasn't looking for anything at all- except for answers. She was always looking for answers.

Illowy gave a small nod as the older girl spoke about how she's was well, but busy. The snake could certainly relate to that. Since the incident over the summer, Illowy had been consumed in learning more about werewolves, as well as the potions and transfigurations that she'd come across through her studies. By this point in the year, she was almost certain that she had more notes in those such things then notes that actually pertained to her classes.

"I've been busy. Lots of studying and trying to get into the duelling club." she explained, trying to make this conversation feel as normal as humanly possible.

Perhaps that was an attempt in vein. Xailah came right out with the question that had been clearly hanging over both of their heads. Illowy's brows rose a bit in surprise by the forwardness; but she could respect being so straight forward. Shifting a bit uncomfortable, the girl climbed to her feet, brushing her backside free of any dirt or leaves, "I um... not really. Isaac and I had a falling out not long after, and I havn't seen him since... I did speak to Dinara before summer holiday, to return her handkerchief. Kind of... she doesn't really remember the night. That, or she doesn't want to." awkwardly the girl rubbed at the back of her neck before letting her hand hang onto her shoulder, "You're honestly the first person I've seen this year from that night. I havn't even seen Elizabeth..."

With a small shrug, the girl added, "I guess it just shook everyone up so bad... pretty much everyone is trying to avoid remembering it." not that Illowy had a chance in hell for that. Between the Blossom Ball and what had happened to her over the summer, her nightmares were revenged by memories. Most of which kept her from getting much of any sleep... at least that meant more time for studying.

Her heart sank, as if it were a stone, that had been cast into the lake. Her hair; while moving ever so slightly previously, suddenly stopped. She slouched a bit. "I'm sssorry to hear that. I hope Isaac, and Elizabeth are doing well...wherever they may be." She spoke quietly, unsure if she was actually sorry. She wondered if they were even alive still; if they even remembered what happened. If so did they think about it from time to time? "Perhaps its best that she forgets. Or at least tries to."

She personally would not have tried to forget what happened- if she was given the chance to. Someone needed to remember what happened that night. Those events were not meant to be swept under the rug, for another unfortunate soul to find. The young Gryffindor looked over at the snake. The blue-eyed girl was clearly uncomfortable. "Do you think Griffith ssstill has those things- dolls?" Xailahs eyes narrowed into small yellow slivers. She never got a good look at the little objects. But she did want to try to retrieve one, if the small burlap doppelgangers were still in the professors possession. One last question, and then she would most likely be off to see if the dolls were still on the grounds. She had no intention of prolonging the Slytherins discomfort any further.

She needed to find the dolls. She needed closure. The story needed an ending. She didn't care if it was a good ending, or one that was half-assed and left for interpretation. She stood there, analyzing the younger girls expression. This was the first time she had actually seen the girl clearly. A small voice in her head laughed, when she noticed that the child had a faint spray of freckles across her face. And it was then she realized that she was in fact sorry. She was sorry that this girl lost not one, but two friends. She was sorry that she more or less, caused the loss of said friends. But most importantly, she was sorry that they followed her out that night, and that she got caught.

Illowy hesitated as the older girl brought up the dolls. Of course she was curious about him, and naturally she needed to know more about them. What made her nervous was how scared they seemed to make their professor; of which he certainly didn't strike her as a man easily made scared.

"I'm not sure..." she admitted, "Professor Griffith seemed genuinely afraid of them, and I don't know if he still has them in his possession or if he handed them over to Headmaster or just destroyed them all together." the snake explained. Though she didn't want to admit it, it had crossed her mind more then once to find out for herself if he did still have them. She needed to know what was so terrible about them. Who created them? And why?

Illowy ran her tongue over her lower lip before speaking again, "He said something odd that night. Something like 'if you touch one hair on their head, that it would cause such dark magic it would make a...'" the girl hesitated, trying to remember what obscure comparison he make, "I don't remember, he said something weird, but it ended in 'shiver in fear'. Which makes no sense. I hid two of them in my pockets for a while and nothing worse happened to me then those who didn't touch them." she explain, having forgotten the detail that it wasn't about touching the dolls in general, but touching the doll that looked like yourself.

"If I'd had more sense about me at the time, I would've asked more questions..." she admitted regretfully.

She listened to the snake, intently. "Looks like I will be paying Griffith a visit then." She folded her hands together, letting them rest on her abdomen. Should she had been scared? How evil were these things? They were just dolls. Dolls couldn't do any actual harm- could they?

"-After the Masquerade of course. I have some last minute preparations, so confrontations will have to wait." She wished the snake had kept the dolls in her pocket. It would have made everything so much easier. "If any of us had more sssense, nothing would have happened." She said with a shrug.

And in some weird way, she found herself feeling glad that things did happen. In a way, she was glad none of them had any sense at the time. She had always been told that things happened for a reason. What if they didn't go out into the forest? What if the fire didn't start? Rosie Parker would have been dead, if nothing happened.

She would have been dead, and the sad thing was that no one would have noticed her missing. Or even cared. "I think I'm going to head to the library sssometime. Maybe I can find sssome information on the dolls. I can keep you updated on what I find if you'd like- try to anyways."

She expected the younger girl would not be looking forward to an owl regarding the dolls, but she left the option open. She didn't exactly know where she stood with the girl, but she felt that Illowy deserved to know any information that she found on the dolls. "Anyways, It was nice seeing you."

She meant it. And while their meeting, might have been an awkward few minutes, she was happy that it happened. She offered the girl a warm, yet toothy smile, before turning on her heel. She began walking towards the old Scottish castle, before stopping abruptly, and turning towards the young snake once again. "Oh, Illowy! Best of luck with the dueling club, I think you'll make it!"

"I'd appreciate that a lot..." she agreed as the other offered to keep her in the loop of whatever information she might find in her research. Though... if the snake were being honest with herself, she never was fond of learning information through the grapevine. She much preferred to learn it herself, so not to risk any tidbits being lost along the way. After all, how can one come up with a proper solution or understanding if one didn't have all of the available information? It was like trying to make out the bigger picture of a jigsaw puzzle while missing vital pieces.

These thoughts scurried through her mind, giving an absentminded "Thanks." in automatic response to the older girl's encouragement about dueling club. Thankfully, the girl pulled her wit back about herself realizing the other was starting to take her leave. Quickly gathering up her books and her bag, Illowy started after her, "Wait I um..." she hesitated a moment as she tried to catch up.

If she did so, she'd then say, "When you do go to Griffith, I'd like to come." it was a statement moreso then a request to tag along, "I need to understand what happened that night, and what made those... things." she explained, "Anything that scares a Hogwarts professor that much, especially a man like Professor Griffith... I want to do what I can to protect anyone else from it."

She started to slow down when she heard Illowy call out. She let the girl catch up to her. "Of course..." Xailah was more than happy to hear that the younger girl wanted to tag along. "You need to know, I need to know- and with time they will need to know." She motioned toward the castle. "I just hope they're ready to know when the time comes."

She wasn't entirely sure if she was even ready to know about the evil that contaminated the dolls. She didn't really tell anyone about what had happened that night. For, she had no intention to scare people. Besides, it was not like anyone would believe that a group of students wandered into the forest, and happened upon some weird dolls."I'll sssend you an owl the day before I go. Keep an eye out for it."

She paused for a moment before adding; "If the owl happens to get lost, then I'll find you." It would have been simpler if they just went now, while they were on the grounds. -But Xailah was tight on time. She was trying to get her shit together before the next ball, because there was no telling what would happen there. She needed to be prepared. She hoped for the best, but was preparing for the worst. "Take care of yourself, Illowy."