Detention Detail PV Beyond the Treeline

Colin smiled as Ebony talked about the occult ritual thing she'd done. So it was true! "I heard some of the Slytherins whispering about it. One thought ye were dead serious about it, and a couple others thought it was really cool but weren't sure about doing their own." Colin shrugged. "Not my cup o tea, but ye certainly got people talking about ye!" He sighed. "I didn't think our Rigel would send me down here for detention. I was sure he'd have me and Liam polishing the orreries with our hair! I think I'd rather be shifting a load of tree limbs and leaves than polishing! At least we're outside, lass!"

They talked for a while about broom sports as they got to work on their patch of ground. "Aye, racing is good craic! I've only ever played unofficial quidditch matches, and those were fun too! But how do you keep yerself from setting the Gryffindorque seeker on fire? Racing is a lot like duelling on brooms. Whenever I play quidditch, I have to seriously remind meself to keep my wand tucked away!"

“Broom racing in the Astronomy Tower sounds fun,” Ebony teased. Colin blushed slightly at the mention of why he was down here in the first place. Well, apart from his morning run with Liam!

"Oh! Twas fun indeed! We had it all planned too, me and Liam! Wait until after curfew, then add an hour, and then meet down by the boathouse. Prefects never go down there, so it's a perfect spot! And then we decided to go for a swim and then race up and around the astro tower! Everything went to plan as we zipped between the pillars of the viaduct and up towards the castle. But. Oof. How were we supposed to know our Rigel had scheduled a special midnight observation for the seventh years!? Anyway, by the time we heard voiced coming up the stairs from the classroom, it was too late! He caught us, still dripping wet, and gave us detention." Colin paused as he prodded at some broken sticks and other debris. "I reckon next time, we'll just have to sneak into his office and check out his calendar!"

When it came to actually doing the work, it seemed pretty clear to Colin that Ebony shared the same general idea about the garden tools that Headmaster Lear had on offer. Colin had poked one of the complicated looking snippy things with a gloved finger. He noted that Ebony had completely ignored the things. It kind of reminded Colin of the enchanted snips his Seanmamó used in her workshop. But these things were clearly neither charmed in any way nor appeared charming to use. It looked like two daggers bolted together with heavy wooden handles sticking off the ends.

Colin was happy that Ebony agreed to join forces. Sometimes working with another person made the task more enjoyable. And it wasn't like they were properly socialising or anything. That's what people did at formal dinners and balls. Planning and scheming and so forth. Colin smiled softly. This was just ordinary talking! The smile drifted off his lips for a moment though. He was mildly concerned that the Ravenclaw hadn't heard the sounds. He thought it was a pretty clear knocking sound. She seemed totally unaffected. Headmaster Lear didn't appear concerned. Maybe he thought it was just some kind of woodpecker or perhaps bowtruckles evicting some hapless creature from their trees? He looked around for confirmation from anyone else.

Several were already working. Someone had lit a fire. Someone had already managed to dangle himself upside down from a tree. The usual chaos. He caught sight of a familiar girl. At first, his eyes skipped right over her. Jun. Of the twins MeyAndJun. One half of Hogwarts Most Annoying First Years! He wondered where Mey was. He hadn't seen her anywhere in over a month, and was now quite worried. Usually his two younger cousins were as inseparable as he and Liam, so it was quite unusual to see one without the other.

Colin smirked. Probably Mey was smart enough to avoid getting caught in whatever scheme it was she and Jun had cooked up that got Jun nabbed for detention! He'd have to track her down later and find out what happened.

“Do you reckon we should cast spells to clear this?” Ebony asked. Colin nodded. He looked over to his detention partner. Wisdom beyond measure, right? Colin thought. In the back of his mind, he could just hear Liam snickering. Hey! I recognise legitimate intelligence when I see it! Headmaster Lear had provided uncharmed tools, but never said that students couldn't set about their tasks properly --- with magic!

"Aye lass! Wands at the ready! We're wizards, after all, so what can possibly go wrong!" There was no sense in waiting for the snippy tool things to get the work done, because they were clearly being lazy! Ebony already had hers drawn and ready! Without any further conversation, she started in blasting piles of debris with deftly cast knockback jinxes. Colin decided to tackle some of the broken and, oddly, burnt limbs and trunks. He wondered what disaster had occurred here.

What could possibly go wrong?

EMMI! EMMI! EMMI!EMMI! EMMI! EMMI!

After five years at Hogwarts, Colin knew that just walking down the corridor between History of Magic and Runes could land oneself in any number of disasters! Still, it never paid to dwell on the negatives. If something did go wrong, Headmaster Lear was nearby. And of course, Colin knew himself well enough: he would charge into the middle of the mayhem! He decided on diffindo as an excellent way of slicing through the dead wood, and relashio to extirpate the roots from the soil.

Colin made a game of it! "Arrrrrr me hearty matie!" he called over to Ebony. "Avast ye truculent besom handles and assorted scallawag sticks!" Bits of debris scattered here and there as they were sliced off or yanked from the damp earth. Some even managed to land near where Ebony could flipendo them into a heap!

As he pressed the attack forward, chasing down and slaying the skeletal warriors of the evil Liche King, the curious knocking sound came back to the front of his mind. Had he hallucinated it? No one else seemed to have heard anything. Ebony denied hearing anything. He wondered if Jun had heard it! He looked around. He'd lost sight of her. If anyone here had sensitive enough ears, it would be his cousin! Oof. Oh well. For now he was alone wondering about the strange sound.

Colin stood still.

Ebony was some distance away, working on her patch of --- scorched earth? Colin stopped his attacks against the Liche King, the game he and Liam used to play when they were still first years. The desire to protect Hogwarts and everyone in it had been the foundation of the game; and now, with his wand firmly in his gloved left hand, after five years it had become for them more of a reality than a game. Hag dolls. Creepy plushies. Spiders. Fires. Bombing attacks. Colin drew a quick breath. He was desperately thankful that Emily wasn't down here enjoying the detention! If something ever happened to her --- and if he couldn't protect her or join forces with her, he didn't know what he would do!

That's when it struck him. He may have been imagining the sound, the two knocks. He turned and looked around. He could still hear the others working nearby, but they weren't close. Even Ebony was some distance away. His nostrils flared as he drew a more gentle breath. He sniffed delicately at the air. The humidity and overcast told him welcome rain would come soon enough. Well. Welcome for Colin, who revelled in the rain!

Scorched earth, he had thought a few moments ago. Colin examined the area closer. Something had happened here. Which of the many rumours of disaster and destruction had actually occurred here, Colin had no clue. Someone, or something had burned this place. The older trees, those that were big and strong enough to survive a fire bore the scars. The broken and blasted undergrowth bore the scars even more obviously. Snapped limbs and trunks blackened by fire. Charred wood littered the ground along with ordinary debris.

And there was something else about this place. Something as familiar as the fire was a mystery to him. Colin dropped to all fours, his fingers and toes digging into the soft soil. Rain. Fire. Burnt wood. Burnt --- cloth? Colin dove into the undergrowth, using his gloves to plow through the wet detritus. "Whoa! I found a spoon! Just like the ones in the Great Hall!" He found some more soaked, fire blackened bits of cloth, torn from someone's robes maybe? He sniffed it. He could smell the char. He rubbed at the cloth. Under the charred bits, he could make out some golden yellow threads. Gryffindor? Hufflepuff?

Colin tucked the cloth and the spoon into his satchel.

EMMI! EMMI! EMMI!EMMI! EMMI! EMMI!

He lost all interest in the original task they'd been set to do. Whatever this was, it was far more interesting than hacking down broken stumps and branches. He knelt down. "Do ye smell this lass?" Colin asked. He wasn't sure if Ebony even heard him. Or anyone else for that matter. He took in the smells down closer to the ground. He caught the metallic whiff first. Sharp. Irony. No longer fresh and pungent. Old blood.

Colin wondered. Ebony was into occult stuff. If she was, surely some other kids were as well? Some, he knew, were old ritual pagans. Like from the really old days. Some were neos. The visage of Gideon Athanatos, his hand bleeding at the ball, came back to him. And Emily. Her hand cursed by something out here deeper in the forest. He'd convinced the poor lass to sacrifice some of her own blood for the good of the forest.

He scrabbled around in the leaf mould some more. He kept finding bits of this and that. Burnt cloth mostly. He found one section that was pretty much unburnt. Just soaked by all the damp. It was mostly black, but there parts of the yellow outline of a Hufflepuff badge. "Wait. Gideon's a Huffplepuff. Was he out here doing something stupid?" Colin wondered. He picked up the cloth, clearly the remains of a blanket, much like one would use out on the grounds for a picnic. Interesting, Colin thought. The lifted blanket revealed something else! Colin reached out for the object.

Crouching, he could see that it was soaked, but it wasn't burned or even charred. A book. Perhaps someone at the --- picnic? --- spilled water which protected both part of the blanket and the book underneath? He picked it up. The pages were stuck together from the damp. It was bound in leather and the pages were thick and sturdy. He sniffed at it. It didn't smell like fire. Perhaps it was already here? Delicate prying revealed that there was printing on the pages. So, it was an actual book, not a journal or a notebook. He tucked that into his satchel to check out later.

And then it struck him.

It had eluded him at first. But the thought of Gideon Athanatos brought the memory back up, and Colin recognised it. Under the smell of imminent rain, below the smell of old char and old blood, it was there. It had been there all the time. Both alluring and repulsive at the same time. Colin licked his lips. For a brief moment, he wondered: could he resist the Darkest Night if he found another bottle? And what about the mushrooms? He'd learned his lesson with those! Brilliant red jellies like all spice and cinnamon Christmas sweets. Only, on the caps of ugly mushrooms. Those had made Colin sick. He remembered that Clark had gotten even sicker. Pfft. Little troll couldn't handle a mushroom like a werewolf could!

He paused, then plunged into a heap of brush and old brown leaves. He sniffed here and there. The scent was really strong! The source had to be near here somewhere. But why was it here? It was just like the Beauxbatons waggons in Hogsmeade, when Cursa and his brothers had come over. The same smell. Mushrooms. Blood red mushrooms. Darkest Night potion. He remembered telling the cute auror about the smell too. Cursa thought he was bonkers, of course.

Colin stood up again, bits of leaves and twigs clinging to his naturally messy hair. "There must be some connection! If only I could sort it out!" He looked around. His sensitive ears could hear the chaos of the clean-up crew in the distance. But he'd managed to follow the trail of blood and mushrooms and Darkest Night beyond where the picnic had been. Colin set his jaw. He wanted to be an auror one day. "Right. Need to find the source. Report to Headmaster Lear."

Colin resumed the search.

Interacting / paired with: @Ebony Vetra
Mentions: @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki | @Emily Shephard

{ --- Post 1 --- } { --- Mod Post 1 --- } { --- Post 2 --- } { --- Mod Post 2 --- }

Actions: Sniffing for the source of the alluring, repulsive smell. Mushrooms --- and Darkest Night. There has to be something around here giving off the scent!

Race: Werewolf

Abilities:

Werewolf Skills | Evasive Manoeuvres | Werewolf Skills | Perfectionist | Werewolf Skills | ---6--- | ---7---

Stats:

Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 16 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 13

Enchanted Satchel:

All sorts of useful things, like his broom (Vailerama, Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats, speed 5)); a knife; a couple of interesting keys; a small assortment of potions (Murtlap, Blackfire, Burn Healing); and his cudgel Cernestaff, three feet of foe menacing Irish blackthorn; usual school related debris such as notebooks, ink wells, quills, pencils, slide rule, charmed unit circle, etc.

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

♡

Reducio TIME AND DAY ??/??/??

Reducio MENTIONS @Skylar Blue

Reducio OUTFIT

Reducio WC 308 words

Reducio OOC NOTES Coded by Melissa Blake

No, no, no, no, no, not again. Not like this.

I felt some tears already falling. I didn't want to lose Sky, not like this. I let her lead the way. We ended up at the edge of the forest, far enough for people not to state, but also close enough for the Headmaster to still keep an eye on us. Not sure if he was actually keeping an eye, though.

Breathing exercises. Just like the doctors taught me. I remember my first episode. I was five in a crowded room, I can't remember where or what was happening, I just remember feeling my chest tightening until I had to hide and throw up. I did not want to throw up on Sky.

No, stop it. Behave. Control yourself. One, two, in, out. Again.

After a few seconds, the light of day came back to normal. People's voices didn't sound so loud.

I looked up at Sky with a shy smile and more tears in my eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. Again. For this and... Everything." I whispered at her, my hands shaking. I even forgot what was I supposed to be doing right now, if I had to clean or... I don't know. I was just able to look at her. My best friend. My sister. My other half. My person.

The girl I was about to lose if I didn't do anything to fix it.

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 7 | Arc Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6

Abilities: 's grace

Actions: Sneaking out (subtly) with Sky towards the edge of the forest.

English | Parseltongue
interacting: @Dahlia Lee
open to all interactions

Unfortunately for Della, the first year did not have the same drive to properly complete the detention. Dahlia hadn’t recognized Della, which was great, but then she asked if the older girl understood what they were supposed to be doing. Headmaster Lear had just clearly explained their task—Della was suspicious that her partner was not particularly bright or, worse, she was feigning incompetence.

“Yeah, we just have to pick up these logs and sticks. It should be a neat line against the forest. It’s pretty simple.” Della used the tone of voice she usually only employed as a racing captain when a younger teammate was becoming a little too off-task. She hoped authority and age had some effect on Dahlia, or she really had picked the wrong partner. It would be a long day.

"∂єℓℓα. яυη gιяℓ"

Every hair on Della’s neck stood on end, goosebumps populated her arms, and her cheeks drained of color. Someone—something?—had just spoken Parselmouth to her. It wasn’t Greta. Did it even sound human? Della quickly scanned the surrounding students. No one was reacting to the voice. Had she imagined it?

No, she hadn’t. It was clear as day. It knew her name, and it said to run.

Her confusion had only lasted a second; in the next, she instinctively grabbed Dahlia’s arm. “Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong. We have to go.”

If the younger girl let her, she’d drag her straight to Headmaster Lear, who was lounging a way’s off. At the same time, she turned to the forest where she last saw Greta. She whispter-shouted frantically, “Greta! Did you hear that? Are you okay? What was that?”

Della Barfield knew that her five-year secret would probably be fully obliterated; Dahlia could surely see what she was doing and maybe surrounding students, too. But in her five years at this magical school, a voice like that had never spoken to her in Parseltongue.

asking Greta for help/snake insight

☆Made by Hana Suzuki☆

Reducio Word Count: 439?

Reducio Mention: @Laasya Manjunath Very open for interactions pls interact!

Reducio Speech OOC note: permission to slightly godmod Laasya was granted by her writer due to her inability to post currently.

Fortunately, the Gryffindor girl agreed to partner up with her, Harumi wouldn't really appreciate working alone, so the girl's agreement is a blessing for Harumi. Hard work is endured through camaraderie, the girl was sure with so many students around, she would find a few willing to work with her, but she wasn't about to go around talking to each person asking them to work with her, that would take too long and would drain Harumi, so one Laasya is enough for now, the more the merrier obviously, but this time it's someone's turn to approach her if any.

----And so they began the journey of cleaning or doing whatever the headmaster asked them. Why? Because Harumi doesn't want to antagonise staff, much less the headmaster himself. She started removing some of the smaller debris first to warm up, and she quickly realised the gloves were another blessing. Becoming a quidditch captain made her more knowledgeable about sports in general and by extension warm-ups and everything in between, who would have known a little less than one year would change her in so many ways.

----At some point, the girl snapped herself out of her thoughts spiral, maybe she should start a chitchat with the other girl? After all if they're both just working silently then they're not partners, they would be just people working near each other. "So, what's your crime?" She asked with a bit of sarcasm, after all the situation was similar to criminals doing hard labour for their crimes. Well, at least if Harumi ever goes to azkban, she knows the drill now, Hogwarts really teaches you awesome things. "I'm here for forging permission slips, What can I say, I couldn't resist going to Hogsmead!" She deliberately left out the part about her friend.

----After chatting with the girl for a bit, Harumi was picking some more debris, heavier ones this time. She could hear the other students doing whatever, everyone here came for different reasons, some might be innocent, some couldn't be more guilty, all the voices and sounds blended into each other, she couldn't make out what any were saying, she fell into that usual spiral of thoughts.

----While working, she would find herself getting more and more closer to the edge of the forest, her initial thoughts about sneaking into it would return, but she doesn't seem to act on them for now, maybe she should just return back before the temptation becomes too much and she does stupid things. God knows she's stupid, whoever thinks she's even remotely smart is severely mistaken, this girl has the intelligence of a potato sometimes.

WC: 249 Date: June, 2026 Location: Grounds Roll: 13 - sneaking into Hogsmeade Speech: #006e00

@Hana Suzuki :Mentions Open to Interactions Charmer :Abilities Picking up and moving debris near the edge of the forest and using Wingardium Leviosa :Action

Jada looked at the others around her. Actually looked. There were a few people she recognised, for the most part, she'd never have thought then troublemakers. @Angel Dayes for one seemed the least likely of the lot. She’d seemed like the perfect example of a goody two shoes the last time three had met. If she was here, either Jada’s earlier estimation of her was wrong or she had been falsely accused.

Returning her gaze to the matter at hand, she quickly readjusted her gloves before picking up the nearest piece of debris and heaving it to one side, glancing every so often into to the vast forest behind her. Her earlier words had been reckless, yes it would be interesting to explore but their chances of going unnoticed by the many students was exceptionally low. Perhaps so would try her luck another day. For now, cleaning. No, not cleaning, forced physical labor was what it was. Making kids wake up at the crack of dawn to work their butts off outside.

Other students had chosen to pull weeds instead of moving things. What strange person would rather get in their knees in the dirt than just carry a few things around? A jerk of her head sent her hair away from her face as she walked. ”Ugh, do we at least get any breaks from this?” she asked no one in particular. She pulled out her wand, tired of walking around and attempted to use the levitating charm to move things instead.

Stamina: 8│Evasion: 7│Strength: 3│Wisdom: 7│ArcPower: 6│Accuracy: 4