Flames and Arachnids PV Finished

Katrina watched in growing horror as the flames caught onto her sock and the rest of the edge of her cloak. She could see her skin redden and her whole leg began to burn and sizzle. Her heart leapt to her throat and suddenly she couldn't talk or scream or cry. Instead she was a frozen statue, even forgetting the muggle 'stop drop and roll'. She managed a whimper as her mind replayed every bad thing that had ever happened with flames.

Bridget attempted to cast a spell but nothing worked. The second year gave up and apologized and Katrina squeaked in protest, still unable to get out words.

"Fire," Katrina managed to get out, finally able to talk. Her spell of frozen fear finally broken. Katrina snapped into action and grabbing a cup of water, and splashing it on her cloak. However, her hands were so shaky that only a drop of the water doused her cloak rolled 3.

This time, panic was in her eyes. It really hurt. "B-Bridget, try again," her voice was cracking and terrified. Katrina continued to watch as the flames grew up her clock, pieces of the fabric falling to the ground scorched through. The embers, the scent of burning skin, the smoke clogging her throat. Why today? Why must she face her fears when she was the most scared?

@Katrina Walker

Failure was not supposed to be something you feared, yet most did. It was supposed to be a reason to try harder. Do better the next time. And yet, as Bridget stared at her wand, mouth ajar, wondering why nothing had come out, failure made her do the opposite. It made her freeze. Which, frankly, was not very helpful while her friend became kindling for yet another fire.

A spell not working was okay in class, especially when you were first learning it. But when it was one you'd learned a whole year ago and practiced regularly, it was just... wrong. A mark of shame. Bridget couldn't just stand there wallowing in her failure, though. Katrina's words fueled her resolve to try again. She had to put this blaze out. Had to save her friend.

Trying again was scary. The thought of failing twice--no, she couldn't think about that. Narrowing her eyes, she mustered all her focus and willpower. Same incantation, same wand movement... "Extinguo." And this time, it worked. The flames were doused, every last spark gone. The Slytherin released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. But now was not the moment for congratulating herself, not that she deserved celebration after such a shoddy performance. Right now she had to make sure Katrina, who was probably more terrified of fire than the brunette was of spiders after it had taken her family's lives, was okay.

Well, physically the Gryffindor looked fine. Bridget was no medical expert, but the burn wasn't bad. The Hospital Wing would be able to fix it, no problem. But emotionally... "Katrina? It- It's okay now. The fire's gone." An image surfaced in her memory, of Thora holding her in that hallway after a spider had given her a panic attack. Maybe that would help Katrina like it had helped her. Crossing the distance between them, Bridget pulled Katrina in for... a hug. The snake was a bit tense, since hugs were really not her thing, but if it helped a friend, it was worth it.

Bridget attempted to cast it again and this time the flames were snuffed out. Katrina felt her knees quake and was hardly able to keep herself from sinking to the floor in a puddle of fright and relief. She pressed her hands to her eyes and focused on long slow breaths, keeping herself from spiraling into a panic attack. Katrina heard Bridget's comforting voice and lowered her hands to reveal teary eyes.

Katrina was so used to hiding her emotions in front of everyone. The instant she was with Bridget, it all came rushing forward. It was because Bridget was the only person still alive that Katrina actually trusted. Katrina was slowly learning to deal with her emotions, but she was still far from having them under control. She had been through so much, but there was still so much more that she needed to learn and to learn from.

Bridget reached forward and embraced Katrina. Small, quiet sobs could be heard escaping from Katrina's throat. Katrina wrapped around Bridget, thankful to actually have a friend she could trust. They had hugged once before, but Katrina forgot how comforting it was to hug someone and to know that they got your back if you ever need it.

"Lets get out of this cursed place," She managed, as soon as her crying stopped. She pulled away to look Bridget in the eyes, "Thank you" Katrina dusted herself off and ignored the fact that she was still sort of shaky. She would walk with Bridget down the Great Hall and give her a half hearted smile.

"I'm going to go to the Hospital Wing to get this checked out," Katrina would leave the invitation open if Bridget would want to join her. If not, Katrina would send Bridget a look of thankfulness before walking off.

She had had more than enough adventure for one day.

Katrina Walker Exits Thread

@Katrina Walker

Bridget didn't know how other people did it, hugging people all the time. She'd seen near strangers hug as a way of greeting or departure, respectively, and couldn't imagine ever feeling comfortable with such a thing. Even right now, hugging a friend, one of the few people she trusted, it took everything in her to not seem like she was pulling away. It came as a relief when the redhead ended the embrace on her own; Bridget wanted her friend to have as much time as she needed to recover from what had just happened but felt more and more uncomfortable the longer they hugged.

Katrina thanked her and announced she'd be going to the Hospital Wing to get looked at. She wasn't sure how much of that thanks she could truly accept--she'd taken much too long to help Katrina--but it was definitely a good idea for her to get to medical attention. The burn didn't need immediate fixing or anything, but she was sure it hurt.

Returning the look of gratitude the lion sent her way, Bridget managed a wan smile. Perhaps she should've escorted her friend to the Hospital Wing safely, made sure she recovered just fine, but in truth, the Slytherin was exhausted. Ever since the spider attack she hadn't been getting ample sleep, awakened nearly every night by the awful dreams, and between the panic she'd felt from seeing the spider and the rapidly fading adrenaline rush from helping Katrina, whatever energy she'd had was pretty much evaporated. Her break had gone on long enough, and while definitely not relaxing, she simply couldn't put off that Charms essay any longer. With one last wary glance sent at the bowl under which Katrina had trapped the spider, she departed from the Great Hall.

Bridget Collins has exited the thread.