Crash Landing PV Claire Lewis and Colin McCoire Completed

Tuesday
January 14th, 2025

Claire didn't spend much time on recreational activities since coming to Hogwarts. She was here to learn, and she intended to do so. One of the few recreational joys she allowed herself was taking the time to write letters to home. She didn't know what explanation her dad had offered for why Claire could only communicate with Rose and Hana via letter instead of calling them like a modern human being, but they sent letters along with her dad's every time Claire wrote to them.

Today, she was sitting in the grass, quill in hand, parchment on lap, and writing a particularly lengthy response to Rose. It was hard to be vague and tell her stories about Hogwarts whilst leaving the magical aspects out. Her eyes drifted from the parchment to the skies, and she stared, as if daring the sky to interrupt her leisure with rain.

She seemed to have looked up at just the right moment, as she saw a figure drop to the ground right on the cusp of the castle. Claire tossed her quill and parchment aside, probably spilling her ink onto the grass, and ran to the figure.

"Oh, goodness, are you okay?" Claire asked with wide eyes. Her hands hovered above Avery at an uncomfortable distance. She wanted to help this girl, somehow, but she didn't know what to do, or what was wrong.

"Can... can you stand?" Claire asked, her usual reserved and controlled manner of speaking gone from her voice, replaced by a sense of panicked unease.

Interacting with: @Claire Lewis and soon @Colin McCoire Mentioning: N/A Date: 01/14/25

Word Count: 208

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Avery flushed with embarrassment when the girl ran up to her. She didn't mean to cause a scene, but her legs were tired from hobbling all the way from the pitch. "I think so, I fell off my broom while training for Quidditch, and I hurt my leg." Avery tried to stand after the girl asked her if she could. She managed to get her weight onto one leg before it collapsed beneath her again. "Looks like I won't be going anywhere for awhile alone. Can you help me? I think my leg is broken." Avery said as she motion to her left leg that was uselessly laid on the ground. She grimaced in pain. She didn't want the girl to feel too sorry and obligated to help, so she tried to hide it. She knew she could make it eventually to the Hospital Wing. But it would absolutely take awhile. Maybe having this girl help wouldn't be such a bad idea. She slapped her hand on her face and laughed. This was not how she had expected her day to go. She thought she was going to have a simple practice with no problems, and actually get more homework done after that. That obviously wouldn't happen, though.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Tuesday
January 14th, 2025

The mention of flying and quidditch practice piqued Claire's interest, but she pushed that back for later. It wasn't the time to pursue her desire to learn more about the sport as a whole.

Claire glanced around briefly, as if seeking for someone more capable of providing help. It wasn't that she had no intention of helping, but instead she felt woefully inadequate to provide the help that this girl needed. Claire wasn't strong, or particularly fit, and she certainly didn't know what to do in such a situation.

She cursed herself mentally for not paying attention when her aunt Storm had tried to teach her basic fireman carries.

"Um, well, there's a way to do this," Claire said, beginning to slip an arm under the injured girl's arm, but she hesitated, holding back. "I don't quite remember the proper way, though..."

She trailed off, and, realizing that indecision was helping no one, she stepped closer.

"I can only think of two ways to help," Claire said slowly. "We can either try a piggyback ride, or I can slip under your arm like a human crutch. Which would you prefer?"

Claire wasn't exactly the strongest, so the piggyback ride option would likely leave her winded and tired, but from the looks of the girl's bruises and injured leg, she wasn't sure that the girl could managed to one-leggedly walk to the hospital wing either. Especially once they reached the Grand Staircase.

Interacting with: @Claire Lewis and soon @Colin McCoire Mentioning: N/A Date: 01/14/25

Word Count: 212

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

"I'm good with using you as a crutch. I may not look like much, but I just walked all the way from the Quidditch Pitch. What's a few more stairs? Right?" Even Avery didn't believe in herself to get up the stairs. She was pretty sore, and it was a long way to get up to the third floor. But she was determined. She didn't want to be a burden on the girl so she carefully stood up again. This time carefully distributing her weight, so her leg wouldn't give out again. "Thanks for coming to my rescue. I don't know what I was thinking. Especially when I was flying that broom. . ." Avery trailed off. The terrifying fall still fresh in her mind. Warding her off from trying anything risky like that for awhile. She saw interest fill the girl's face when Avery mentioned Quidditch. She made a mental note to talk to her about it after this whole ordeal was over. Maybe the Slytherin girl and her could train together sometime. That would be a lot more fun than training alone. And a lot less risky. But Avery didn't mind the risk. She was a Gryffindor that loved adventure, but there is only so much adventure even a Gryffindor can handle.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Tuesday
January 14th, 2025

Claire shifted her arm beneath Avery, providing as much support as she could manage with her less-than-athletic frame. She wasn't as out of shape as she thought, since the vast amount of walking from one end of the castle to another had made her lungs and legs passably strong, but she was by no means a bodybuilder accustomed to using any sort of upper body strength for anything other than hauling books around.

"How high was the fall?" Claire asked as she guided the girl into the castle. It was slow-going as the two became accustomed to the position in which they were walking, or, rather, hobbling.

She could imagine the girl soaring above the fields atop her broom, the wind blowing through her hair. Claire felt a pang of envy at that sort of courage in the face of such heights. She longed to play quidditch herself. She'd built an appreciation for the sport since coming to Hogwarts, and she certainly had a desire to prove herself the better player than her mother, who'd playing for the Slytherin team in her own time at Hogwarts.

Suddenly, a look of realization came over Claire and she pulled a face and winced.

"Oh, my. I'm so sorry for being so rude. I'm Claire. I believe I've seen you in class, but we haven't actually met yet," she said, her breathing becoming slightly heavier from exertion as they climbed the stairs toward the third floor.

It wasn't that Avery was heavy by any means, but Claire reasoned that she herself had probably indulged a bit much during the ample meal time at Hogwarts.

Interacting with: @Claire Lewis and soon @Colin McCoire Mentioning: N/A Date: 01/14/25

Word Count: 219

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Avery gladly took the support the other girl offered as they walked into the castle and began to make their way up the stairs. She saw that the girl was having a bit of a rough time helping her, so she tried to take a little of her weight off of the girl. She wanted to help the girl as much as she was helping her. "I'm not quite sure. I think about 20 or 25 feet. I was chasing a snitch, and didn't realize there was a wall. I swerved my broom, lost balance, and slipped off. That's all I can remember besides falling. I think I blacked out when I hit the ground." Avery shuddered internally at the feeling of free falling. It was absolutely terrifying. Especially when you weren't in control of it. "It's okay. I guess watching me fall was a bit traumatic. Nice to meet you, Claire. I'm Avery, by the way. I think I do remember you from class too." That's all Avery was able to say as she put her full concentration on getting up the stairs. This wasn't going to be easy. Actually, this was probably the hardest part. The only thing keeping Avery going was telling herself that it wasn't much farther. Though, three floors is quite a long way.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Tuesday
January 14th, 2025

Twenty or twenty-five feet.

Claire was only twelve, so she didn't have the best means of visualizing exactly how high that would be, but given that she was around five feet tall, give or take, she could imagine falling a distance that came out to be about four or five of her would hurt a lot. She couldn't imagine how strong Avery must be to have survived a fall like that and even managing to walk most of the way back to the castle.

"That's quite a fall," Claire said slowly, her eyes lingering down on Avery's hurt leg. She felt a surge of sympathy for the poor girl's pain.

As they came upon the stairs, Claire could feel the atmosphere tense around them. It was going to be very difficult, but they'd already come this far.

"Put all of your weight on me," Claire said, shifting to a position that allowed herself to better assist Avery up the stairs. It was slow going, and the stairs of the Grand Staircase, as usual, had their own intentions in mind. Climbing stairs with a limping girl on your shoulder was difficult. Doing the same atop a moving set of staircases was doubly so. But, after great effort, they reached the third floor.

"Is the hospital wing nearby? I've never been," Claire said, having only been to this floor to visit the trophy room on her weekly visits and to Charms class.

Interacting with: @Claire Lewis and @Colin McCoire Mentioning: N/A Date: 01/14/25

Word Count: 204

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Avery and Claire continued up the stairs. Avery nodded in agreement at Claire's comment about her fall. She was shocked that she was alive right now. According to her dad, a fall like that could've killed her. She remembered his advice when he told her about a similar experience that happened to him. She just wished she could remember what he said. Avery shifted her weight. They were almost there. She could do this. She had already made it this far, so what was a little more? "It's right down the hall. This way." Avery said weakly as she pointed to a door. Avery was feeling very weak at this point. Walking all the way from the Training Pitch, then up all those stairs had taken a lot out of her. She didn't know how much farther she would be able to go. She just hoped that she could do this. She willed herself to continue going. She couldn't quit. Not now. Not ever. She had been through too much, and she was about to feel better. That was an amazing thought. Not having to worry about the stabbing pain in her leg, and the constant annoyance of her bruises. That would be nice!

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Colin was feeling happy. Well, happier than he'd been the last week or so. The Wolf Moon had come and now gone, and Colin felt more back to normal. After leaving the shack, he and Liam had run all the way up to the stone outcropping high above the castle and back! It felt so good to get all that extra energy out! He had been whistling a tune as he went about his duties in the Hospital Wing. He finally felt useful here. He could do more than just bandage up a cut now!

He watched as two girls came limping and shuffling into the place. One looked like she'd been mauled by a tree. Nurse Bessie sorted them out and determined what had happened. Then she turned the pair over to Colin! Colin's heart thumped with excitement! In Colin's vast experience of being a patient in the Hospital Wing, limping generally meant someone had broken something, and Colin was eager to find out what had happened himself.

He skipped over towards the cot where one of the girls was lying down. A Gryffindor. Figures! The other, a Slytherin, was sitting in the chair by her friend's cot. Colin grabbed the clip board that held the slip of parchment detailing the girl's name and House and injury and what Nurse wanted her interns to do.

Colin smiled at the girl. "Ayo! I'm Colin! Nurse Bessie sent me to look after ye, lass!" He hopped up onto one of the chairs and then crouched down into it, before finally settling on something approaching a seated posture. He picked up his quill in his left hand and got ready to write what the girl --- Avery --- told him. "Oh!" he said, looking at his quill. "Don't mind that it's on fire! Transfiguration accident. Haven't been quite able to sort it yet. But it's actually pretty cool! The fire doesn't burn or anything! Right. Avery --- Gray? Hmm..." Colin eyed the first year Gryffindor suspiciously. His bright green eyes glittered with just a bit of mischief. "Ye're actually Avery right? Not someone else polyjuicing Avery?"

He had to turn the parchment at a weird angle to get the quill to write properly in his hand. "Oo. Flying accident? Tell me what happened! I've got to write down yer story, you see! And then I've got to ask some questions!" The tip of Colin's tongue stuck out just a bit as he wrote, listening to Avery's story. "Oh! And what's yer name, Snakey girl? I should put that too, since you brought her in!"

Colin gave her a smile. His heart swelled that it was a Slytherin who had helped the injured Gryff. Sadly, too many would just laugh and watch if someone got hurt. "Right. So! Avery! Have you ever had dragon pox or mumblewumps? What about plague, ague or dandruff? Are you allergic to any potion ingredients? Oh! And --- hmm. No, I doubt ye've ever had mange. Have you? Have you ever randomly vanished or been involved in any kind of cauldron explosion or transfiguration gone horribly wrong, such as ending up with two or more extra arms?"

He could hardly wait to learn Avery's story and how the Slyherin girl fit into it!

@Avery Gray | @Claire Lewis || Pings @Brookline Quinn