The Search Continues Open

The library was a place that Xailah occasionally liked to frequent. For old times sake. Not only did the space hold dusty tomes, but it held bittersweet memories as well- recollections of a precious spark that would sprout into a beautiful friendship. With the addition of the new librarian, Xailah no longer had a reason to roam the rows of shelves. She didn't have a reason to stand guard in the library- it wasn't her territory to patrol anymore. And yet, sometimes she would visit- not to guard, or study; but to remember. Today however, would be a day where she went to the library with an actual purpose. She was in possession of some books that were long overdue. In her arms she carried several well-worn books on hags. It was time to return them to their resting place. By her feet, the grey cat Schrödinger, waddled along.

The Gryffindor and her companion, waded between the shelves, allowing an invisible current to guide them. They peeked through the spaces- not for any reason in particular, but out of habit. Sometimes they saw misplaced books, and sometimes they would see a face on the other side of the spaces. Many of the faces belonged to nobodies- faceless people that provided no influence to their lives. There was one however- a very familiar one, with veins that spidered beneath translucent skin- that would draw the young metamorph near. While she was not close to the figure that sat in the cushioned chair, with a stack of books; the figure was one that could always be recognized.

Veiled in a dim spotlight, sat Illowy Magnard. Maybe not a friend- but an ally. A face always welcomed. Xailah said that she would find the snake, back when they had seen each other at the Masquerade. It was rather funny that the library was to be the place they would meet again. Considering why they were both there. Xailah walked up to the girl upon seeing her set a tome down in defeat. She invited herself into Illowys little bubble; promptly pulling a chair towards the table. "Sssomeone's been doing a bit of studying." She stated, her tone warm, and casual. She gestured to the pile of old publications, that the serpent had gathered. Gold eyes, flickered over the snake. "And judging by your expression, I think it would be sssafe to assume your time ssspent studying has lead you to nowhere. Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" She offered, setting the tomes she had brought with the intent to return, on the table.

@Xailah Alptraum

Killian rose his head from behind his mistress's shoulder from his hiding place between the back cushion of the chair, giving a soft chitter to raise the girl's attention. Looking up from her hands, it wasn't difficult to recognize Xailah and her companion as they approached, quietly inviting herself to sit with her as she pulled up her own chair and making themselves comfortable. In hand, the lion seemed to have brought her own material, setting it aside on the table.

Since her first year, Illowy hadn't found reason not to trust the older girl; at least, she trusted her more then most people. They seemed to be on the same page, and more importantly, the same side. Yet, since the Masque, Illowy wasn't quiet sure where they stood. Xailah knew about the doll, she had it in her possession... but she didn't say anything about it. Why? And how did she get it in the first place? Was it one of the dolls from that night in the forest that she'd swiped from the former professor of magical creatures, or a new one? So many questions, and Illowy wasn't even sure how to ask, or if she'd even get an answer.

At the very least, Xailah had held up her promise to come find her. She could give her that much credit.

Pale blue eyes flickered between the books and the Prefect before she tucked a tress of hair behind her ear and reached for one of the selections, "I've spent almost a year trying to find something about the curse on Slytherin, and barely know more then I did on day one." she explained, somewhat bitterly, "Not even a footnote. An' the Professors know about as much as I do, so at this point, I'll take whatever help I can get." quietly, the girl thumbed through the contents a moment before pausing and lifting ghostly eyes back at the Metamorph once more, "Why didn't ye tell me about the doll? I know we're not best friends... or probably not friends at all, but I thought we were on the same side. Ye could've trusted me." her tone wasn't accusatory... more so she was just confused if not, ever slightly feeling betrayed as to having been left in the dark.

She smiled at the animal that peeped out from behind Illowy, like a fuzzy, second head- waved to it with willowy fingertips. Xailah placed her own cat in her lap, and lowered her head to whisper, while pointing at the feline across from them. "Who's that Schrödinger?" She gasped slightly through her half-smile. "Remember Killian?" She asked the cat, that stirred in her lap. "Waow." Replied the cat. It was odd chatter- similar to the type between mothers when they go to meet up with their mom friends at parks, just to brag about how wonderful their little angels are. Strange, sure, but it couldn't be helped. Meeting other peoples pets- especially the Felids, was always an exciting thing. Such encounters often had a habit of coaxing out some of the metamorphs hidden maternal instincts.

The smile would fade quickly, as she allowed herself to fall into the back of the chair that she was sitting in. Gloved hands folded neatly over her middle. A more serious expression would replace the pleasant one from moments before. It was time for the lion and snake to play catch up. They both had a bit of explaining to do. Illowy looked over the books that had been gathered, with those eyes of a spectral blue. The ghost of a child, explained what she was looking for. She was in search for a clue, a hint- anything that could help her in figuring out more, about the curse that had been placed upon Slytherin nearly a year ago. Goodness. Had it almost been a year already? Really? Almost a year, and no one knew a thing about the black blood that pumped through their veins. Something clearly wasn't right.

Illowy didn't hesitate to jab at the elephant in the room, as she flipped through weathered book pages. She had every right to jab, and she had every right to feel betrayed. What Xailah had done wasn't exactly right, but she had felt it was necessary. The lioness straightened in her seat. She wasn't too used to people being so direct- but that wasn't to say she didn't welcome such directness. "Its not that I didn't trust you, I did- I do trust you Illowy." Rosy lips, pressed themselves together into a firm line. "It was the thing, that I didn't trust." Dark locks would fall, framing her pale face. "I wasn't joking when I sssaid that it would kill you." At the time of obtaining the doll, and the months following, she was unaware of Illowy's condition- she did not know that the infected Slytherins were going to die without the proper treatment.

In fact, any information pertaining to the black blood, was more or less, fairly new to her. No one liked to talk about it- and those that were willing, knew just as much as everyone else. Had the lion known sooner that Illowy was dying, would she have told her about the doll? No. Absolutely not- but now that the doll was presumably gone for good, she was free to talk about it without consequences. "I can tell you everything, but I want to try and help you first Illowy." The story would most likely fill itself in. But if Illowy wanted the specifics right then and there, she could ask; and she would be given the answers. "I came here to return some books-" She explained. "Its a good thing I found you before I gave them back. I believe they will be of some use to you." A hand dressed in fabric, patted the stack of tomes that had been placed on the table. "A sssnake told me, and a friend of mine, that the curse on Slytherin may have some connection to hags." The books that had been brought in? All of them were hag related.

@Xailah Alptraum

Killian would stretch lazily as Schrödinger replied to his chitter, inching himself ever so much towards the edge of the cushion to dramatically drape himself over the side and sniff at the air in the other kitty's direction, curious at the possible new friend. Killian was some odd combination of the laziest, yet most curious creature Illowy had ever met. Not that she minded since he tended to keep himself out of trouble. The last thing she needed on her plate was a troublesome critter.

As the older girl tried to explain her reasoning, Illowy quietly listened. If Xailah had thought she was doing it for the snake's own good and safety, she supposed she could take her at her word; after all, it wouldn't have been the first time Xailah had tried to protect her in some manner. Nor be the first time she tried to arm her with information that might aid her. As peculiar as the older girl was, she was at least reliable more often then not. At least, not in Illowy's experience.

Thin fingers traced down the worn edges of the book's pages in her lap as Xailah hoped they might aid her in her search, "I've been sitting on the same theory too... that the curse and the hags might be connected. Glad I'm not the only one." she agreed, "Hopefully there's something to be found. At this point, I'll take bad news over no news." that might've been a sad thing to admit, but she couldn't help it. Knowing something was better then knowing nothing; and frankly, if it were all related, it was best if everyone knew everything that was going on. Especially if Xailah was being sincere in wanting to help her figure out what this curse was.

That night wasn't something Illowy especially liked to think about, given it still haunted her dreams, but at least by this point she was somewhat use to talking about it some, "I don't know how much ye'know about that night..." she began, starting to explain how a student from the girls' and then the boys' dorms had both woken to hearing something scratching at the Common Room door, waking most of the house in the process. Their Head of House had been gone at the time and what ensued after was a long debate of if they should open the door, and Illowy explained her position nearest the door, Killian's hissing at what lay beyond and then a rogue student who had taken it upon herself to open it, giving way to numerous, massive black spiders that flung themselves and sank their fangs into whomever they could, causing a sensation like you're burning from the inside out.

Illowy had been among those who'd been bitten the most, counting up near eight bites in various places, which was why her marks tended to look worse then some of the others who only had one or two. She explained she didn't know what happened after since she'd passed out, but had heard about how they'd practically vanished into thin air before Professor Jenson returned to the Common Room and students were then rushed to the Hospital Wing, "Even the school nurse couldn't pinpoint exactly what the curse was, and ever since everyone bitten has to have their dose of the Thick Golden Potion once a week. It numbs, or at least lessens, the effects of the curse, and keeps it from spreading. If we don't... that's it." her voice got quiet as she finished the sentence, shifting uncomfortably. Not exactly a situation any thirteen year old while wants to, or should have to, face.

Building her front back up once more, she spoke, "I can be okay if there's no way to be saved from it. But I can't live with not knowing firmly that that is the case."

Hearing that Illowy had considered the possible connection the curse might have had with hags, brought some relief. Even if the theory was a popular one. Sometimes, there was some truth hidden in popular theories. And well, at least everyone was more or less on the same page. When Xailah had spoken to the Slytherin- Flash- who had first indulged her and a friend in Gryffindor, with the story of the common room spiders, he had said that hags were suspected of being behind the whole ordeal. That they were the ones who sent the shadows after the snakes. The conjecture was very plausible, and given the addition of new information it could have very well been the truth. Illowy stated that she'd rather hear bad news over no news at all. Desperation. That was a cry of desperation- a cry of someone who was still holding onto a crooked sliver of hope. It was sad- if not pathetic. Though that wasn't to say it wasn't admirable. Few could truly retain a thing such as hope, for so long.

"I'm afraid I only know the bare minimum." She admitted, her mind once again wandered to a memory of the encounter with the snake who had the speedy name. By bare minimum, she meant that she only knew the situation as it appeared on the surface. Illowy would puncture that overhanging film, digging into what lay beneath it all. She would indulge the Gryffindor, with her own point of view from that night. The common room event was merely a ghost now, and yet Illowy was able to tell her story as if it had just happened. Xailah frowned, knowing that it was one of those memories that singed themselves into the brains of the unwilling. Children shouldn't have to remember such things. The snake wouldn't be forgetting it anytime soon. The Gryffindor felt her own skin begin to creep, as the snake described the fiery sensation that the spider bites induced- as they injected their venom. "I heard that a boy named Glen cast a very bright Lumos, and that killed some of them?" It came out like a question- it was a question in a way, but it was mostly a search for confirmation.

The crack of a frown deepened, at hearing that the events were m0re or less caused by one foolish student. Had anyone tried to stop the unnamed girl from opening the door? At least one or two... Xailah figured. Eventually she would shake her head. The ends of her hair seemed to pique and curl slightly, at the mention of the nurse. Finlay was the nurse at the time wasn't he? Finlay was a joke. A dangerous one. Thank goodness he wasn't at the school anymore. According to the Slytherin that sat across from the lioness, those that were bitten had to be given a Thick Golden Potion. The elixir was the only thing postponing the spread of the black venom. If one failed to do so, one day, then the game was over. "What would happen exactly? Would you just... die?" Xailah asked in reference to Illowys ending of her sentence. Xailah suspected that dying was all too simple. "I was told that an owl had been carrying a package that contained contaminated blood. The blood got out. The owl had to be..." Oh what was the phrase? "Put down." A shiver creeped across the metamorphs spine. "Is that what will happen to you?"

Now, Xailah had a theory of her own that she had built off of the hag one. Or maybe it was an explanation- a way for her to better understand what was going on with this curse. She was trying to test it now, by asking questions to see if her thoughts matched up with facts and speculations. All the information presented fell into place with the thoughts so far. "Did the spiders touch anyone? Not bite-" She made a motion similar to that of a jumping spider, with her hands. "Just jumped on them, or made some sort of physical contact? And if they did, do you know if those that were touched, have the black blood too?" Letting out a deflated snort, she tacked on: "I'm sssorry if my questions are unhelpful. I'm just trying to understand some things before I ssshare my thoughts on the matter." Illowy had expressed that she would take anything- even if it was bad, and Xailah truly didn't want to mislead the girl.

@Xailah Alptraum

Illowy thought over Xailah's words a moment at the mention that a boy had casted a Lumos that caused some of the spiders to vanish. Searching her memory of that night, she truly couldn't recall, "Its possible, I think I've heard someone say that happened. I don't think I was awake by that point." she admitted. Illowy didn't like the idea that she'd been overcome so quickly and easily. She hated the idea of not leaving an altercation on her feet. Yet, she'd had to be carried out and to the sanctuary of the Hospital Wing. Though in her defense, a twelve year old girl verses a small battalion of magical black spiders is hardly a fair fight.

It was much easier to answer Xailah's questioning of if the infected students would ultimately die if they didn't have their measly excuse of a bandaid potion, or if they never find a curse all together, "That's my understanding. Ultimately, everyone infected will die. I did nearly die." one would be surprised how many times Illowy had stared Death in the eyes in her short time on Earth. Yet, this night had been the first time she'd danced on the edge of his blade, and nearly fell into his hands. Much of her waking up in the Hospital Wing was a blur prior to being given the potion. She remembered the pain, the chaos sounds like a muffled roar in her ears. She mostly recalled the herculean task of trying to stay awake when she had come to, trying to take in whatever breath she could find, and the fear that if she let herself go to sleep, she'd never wake up again. Illowy swallowed hard on the reflection, "Its a curse intended to kill, but not before making the victim suffer. That much was made clear."

The snake had yet to hear about someone sending off blood from one of the victims, much less about the poor owl, "If they put it down, it was a mercy killing so the poor thing wouldn't have to suffer the curse spreading." she explained, "I can't imagine though that the Ministry would condone doing that to a group of kids though if there's a hope of finding a cure." she explained thoughtfully.

Then came the final question, which made Illowy have to think hard once more for the answer, though first she offered a small smile and shook her head, "Its fine. I don't mind trying to answer questions for you if it helps us figure this all out. As smart as I like to think I am, I certainly don't think I could figure it out alone, so the more people working on it, the better." she explained. Then going back to processing the question once more, she responded, "I don't think so. Nearly everyone I think who was there that night was touched, but only a handful of us were cursed, and everyone cursed was bitten." she explained, "Biting was how they could infect the blood. It's carried through the circulatory system to ultimately reach the heart, I believe."

A small sigh echoed at the lack of confirmation on the rumored Lumos. Illowy said that she wasn't awake then, but had more or less heard the same. The Gryffindor supposed it was confirmation enough. It seemed all too simple on the surface- light banishes the darkness- more cliché than simple actually. Yet complex all the same. Illowy had been checking off the boxes that lingered about the metamorphs hollowed skull. The formations of a frown that Xailah had donned, turned into a mild grimace. The reality of everything was truly morbid. Morbidity hadn't really been a thing that upset the darkling lioness. Then again, she had never dealt with anything morbid in the current context. The whole thing was frightfully disturbing. Her head bobbed slowly- almost as if it had been reluctant to do so- while listening to what else Illowy had to say.

And then the bobbing would pause, once the snake spoke of the intended purpose of the curse. Xailah had a hunch, that was inclining her to believe that there was much more to the curse, than it being intended to kill. It was designed to kill in one way or another, that much was true. Or maybe not to kill... Metallic eyes narrowed beneath shaded lashes. But to make more of. A disgusting thought. She thumbed at her chin with a cloaked forefinger. Her thumb curved, bringing itself to her lips, where she would bite down on the nail. There was a mention of mercy killings, from the Slytherin, when the owl had been brought up. The girl then went on to say something about the ministry- did the ministry even know about it? Xailah bit down harder on her nail. While unseen, the flesh beneath the keratin had turned a pale white, as a result of the pressure from her teeth. "Do you sssuppose they know?" "They", being the ministry. She muttered to herself, not expecting an answer of any sort.

Illowys answer to the last question, allowed Xailah to slide her figurative puzzle pieces next to each other. Hearing that the blue-eyed serpent didn't mind the cubs questions, was reassuring. An incredibly faint smile would be summoned in acceptance to the small one that the snake offered. The girl explained that only those who had been bitten, were infected as a result. That meant, in order for the venom to thrive, it needed to stay inside. Xailah could feel the little gears in her head click. One by one. Heart was the keyword in Illowys explanation. Anyone with basic knowledge of human anatomy, and some understanding of how internal organs functioned, knew that the heart was not the last stop. In a general sense. "And the heart pumps the infected blood to the brain..." Once it was in the brain? Then it was game over.

Her pupils would flex excitedly. Being given such information would have made any normal person up, and walk out of the room. But not Xailah. She had revelations. The grim subject coaxed an excited quality from her voice. "There hasn't been a cure or answers yet, because the venom pumping itself through your veins, is referred to as a curse. Therefore, it is being treated as such." Her speech was abnormally fast. "This curse isn't a curse. Its a parasite." Which might have been an obvious observation, and one already considered. A finger rose, signifying a pause, and then continuation. "Which is a good thing, because that means there is a cure." While good was certainly subjective, it was better than nothing. "The black blood- its an living organism, it feeds off of you." The lioness leaned towards the snake. She scanned the serpents features in the dim light. Searching for a shift in the shadows on her face- the signification of a change in expression. "It lives, and that means it can be killed." Xailah then leaned backwards with a huff. "The potions that you, and the rest of Slytherin have been taking are ineffective, because they were not brewed to kill or harm."

@Xailah Alptraum

It felt almost strange to be going through her story to someone that wasn't directly involved; much less to someone who wasn't even in her own house. Up until now, she was fairly certain that the only people who truly cared about saving the afflicted Slytherin students were the Slytherin students themselves and the professors. She could almost see the gears churning through Xailah's mind, trying to solve such a complex puzzle as she occasionally nodded her head and nibbled at her nail listening to the snake's words.

Xailah then spoke aloud a question Illowy hadn't thought about beyond the obvious. Did the Ministry know what was happening in Hogwarts? Surely they had to, right? The school would have to report if nearly a dozen students were cursed with something that they'd yet to find answers for, right? Then again, Illowy hadn't heard of a proper investigation yet being done by the Ministry, so she couldn't feel certain, "I'd imagine they would know... the school would have to report that, wouldn't that?"

Illowy shifted in her seat as she watched the cub's mind sift through whatever new ideas and answers she'd provided her. The snake nearly opened her mouth to ask what the other girl was thinking, but there wasn't a need. There was an almost excited spark in Xailah's tone as she started to unravel the ideas in her mind out loud and rather quickly, though the snake somehow still managed to follow such a rapid train of thought, and became Illowy's turn to bob her head thoughtfully

Aspects of it made sense; that she couldn't argue.

Taking her journal from it's perch on the arm of the chair, the snake flipped through a couple pages before picking up her pen; it was probably wise to write these theories down, "You're right the Thick Golden Potion isn't made to heal or harm. Its a quarantining potion. Its meant to act like a barrier to keep whatever the affliction is from spreading." she agreed, "But if it is a more like a magical parasite, how can we cure it?" her pen paused a moment, "The only lead we have is that the creatures that caused it were destroyed by light. Even if that is a viable solution to how to nullify this; how would we? Clearly it cant be effected just by the host being exposed to light. So the only option would be to either figure out how to draw the black blood out like some kind of medieval bloodletting and exposing it then - which mind you if that owl story is true would be incredibly dangerous to anyone who isn't already effected- or figure out how to project light into the body itself... which I'm not sure is possible."

Even if it was a theory in vain, it was better then having no ideas at all.

Illowy and Xailah seemed to be on the same wavelength, taking strangeness into account. Xailah felt equally strange, to be on the receiving end of things. Not that it registered in the moment. Later in the day she would likely reflect on this impromptu meeting, and how odd it was. There were many- well, few really- who genuinely cared about the situation that the Slytherins had found themselves in. Some cared for the mystery, or the thrill of uncertainty that flowed through inky blood. They wanted to insert themselves in dangerous affairs, for no reason other than to be nosy, or to make a name for themselves. And of course, there were some who cared because they had friends amongst the snakelets. That was the category that Xailah fell under- that and... she was developing something of a bleeding heart. Someone was making her go soft. Be it for better or worse.

If not for those two factors, Xailah likely wouldn't have cared as much as she did now. Of course, one could also wonder why a Slytherin was so willing to reveal such... touchy, information. Though, the answer to that was seemingly much more obvious. Desperation pulled their strings. They had no choice but to obey the tugs- if they didn't, well, disobeying was simply out of the question at this point. To disobey, is to die. The snakes didn't want to die. Illowy didn't- thats the way it seemed anyways. The girl had always come across as the fighting type. That was a particularly admirable quality of the snake. If only there were more like her... maybe the parasite would have been stomped out much sooner.

There were somethings that a person could normally assume were obvious. The question of "if the Ministry knew..." being one of them. But now, the obvious was too simple of an answer in this day and age. Did the school have to report a parasite, that infected less than a fourth of the student population? One would think so. Then again, one would also think that the threat of hags on the school grounds would have been reported too- and taken care of. There was no evidence implying that anything had been reported, or had the intentions of being reported. There was of course, the small chance that the school had made a report of the happenings- people talk, someone in the upper branches surely would have heard something- but nothing was being done about it. Best to keep those sorts of things hush-hush. Not everyone who worked with the ministry, worked there because they had the desire to help the little people. There were quite a few bad apples. It was the nature of politics. Thats all the ministry was- one tall tree bearing rotten politicians. One corner of Xailahs mouth began to favor the rightmost side of her face. She let the palms of her hands fall open, in an uncertain shrug. If one thing was clear, not a lot of faith was put into the hands of those higher in authority.

The theory train had made its round. Illowy hopped onto it with ease, much to Xailahs delight. Illowys display of understanding and consideration of the idea, was relieving. But then the snake would pop the breaks on the train, as she presented a troubling theory: The How. The Gryffindor admittedly hadn't thought too much about the how, but with a little push from the Slytherin, those gears began moving. Illowy was certainly onto something, as far as possible solutions to the removal of the parasite went. While they were only... ideas, if not ones that weren't meant to be taken seriously, they were a step in a very interesting direction. And possibly, the right direction. The lioness watched the snake take a journal from its spot on the chair, and flip it open. Hm. It was a bright idea- keeping a journal. Keeps thoughts organized. Or disorganized- whichever was preferred.

Xailah took one thing away from all that Illowy had said. Containment. The fact that the parasite needed to be contained inside something at all times, is what made Xailah build a line between the shadows and the dolls- well, doll. The doll was parasitic, and incredibly hard to destroy (yet easier in comparison to the Slytherin curse) because whatever organic thing festered inside of it, was protected by a cloth shell. Though in the end, fire seemed to do the job. Real fire. Like the doll, the Slytherin parasite, the... bug, was concealed. However, it was protected by a living and breathing shell- an organic host. That there was the big problem. Xailah dampened her lips. "About the owl- it turned." She squinted, watching the top of Illowys pen. "Into a shadow. That was why it had to be killed. Killing the host will kill the parasite." Or so she had been lead to believe. "I was thinking a sssmall dose of poison- enough to kill a magical parasite, could be given to those afflicted, but..." She shook her head. "That could be too risky, since we don't know how the parasite would react."

It was a great shame sunlight couldn't be shoved into a little capsule, for consumption- unless it could. "Maybe light itself isn't the thing that destroys the shadows. Perhaps there is sssomething inside of the light that they don't like?" Like... uh. Vitamins? No, thats dumb. Not to mention far too simple. Xailah bounced her knee for a moment, as she danced around Illowys other idea. "The bloodletting would be incredibly dangerous, yes, but I think it is worth making note of." Her eyes briefly flicked down to Illowys journal. "If the parasite can not be destroyed from inside, then coaxing it out would be the only other option. And bloodletting would certainly do the job." Ah, but then there was always the risk of infections- and who knew what the sudden removal of the parasite would do to the host? The Gryffindor hummed. "What if we transferred it into a different host? Like-" She rolled her eyed, thinking of a way to phrase her thought, but soon let the words roll away. Transferring hosts was definitely too high of a risk. "Never mind. If worse comes to worse, there is always the option of finding sssomeone who can remove it. Unfortunately, I think hags are the only beings that posses the knowledge to do such a thing."