The Curse of the Castle Clouds PV Victoria Lena Jones Unfinished

The last set of classes let out for the day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and thankful students scattered about, ready to enjoy their bit of free time before supper that evening. Some would head to the courtyard to socialize with friends while others would take to the grounds to play various games - makeshift quidditch, quodpot, gobstones, wizards chess, or take in a game of chase. Others would find themselves headed to their dormitory or common room to unwind and some still would frequent the study room or the library.

Simon had just finished checking on the abandoned classroom on the second floor corridor that he had made into his magical medicine's club, PULSE's headquarters. He soon would be setting out on the first meeting of the year and wanted to make sure everything was still in place after their first meeting the year prior.

When all seemed to be in order and he was satisfied for now, Simon pulled the tapestry back in place and began down the corridors. It was then that he saw a torch along the wall flicker oddly. It didn't dim, nor waver - it sputtered. Simon hadn't seen the lights at Hogwarts do that before and it was then he realized that the air felt odd - damp, perhaps.

And then...... CRACK!

A fork of lighting streaked down in the middle of the corridor ahead. The flash of light and the deafening sound caused him to stop midstep and he clutched the strap of his enchanted satchel. A loud rumble of thunder followed as he looked upward, ensuring that yes, he was inside the corridors.

And then another gust of wind blew, this one colder than the first and it ruffled the notebook that was sticking out of his satchel somewhat. Snow, actual snow, began to drift down from the ceiling above and gather upon the stone cobblestone floor and dust the portraits who were now muttering, bringing their hands up to their chest for warmth and some leaving their frames all together.

From up ahead, he could see another Hogwarts student with bright red hair that reminded him of Haley Rose. From this distance, he thought he recognized her. No, she wasn't Haley, but they had met previously before at the Great Lake when he was attempting to capture Herman the giant squid in a photograph.

"Hey, you doing okay over there?" he asked her. They seemed to be the only two in the Second Floor corridor at the moment. "If this is Hogwarts' idea of a warm welcome to the new school year, I dunno - I'm not impressed," he called out and gave a smile.