Test Elf Fin

Jack was bored again, wandering around outside and looking for something to do in the snow when he heard a voice call out.

“Hey!”

At first he simply assumed the voice was calling out to someone else and so he kept walking. But then he felt a cold, wet impact against his back and he finally turned.

“Hey- Yes you, c’mon!”

"Huh?"

Jack stared at the black-haired boy about his age, befuddled, as the kid picked up a rope - was that a jump rope? - and pulled along a sled it was tied to. Then, because he couldn't help his monstrous curiosity, he hurried after the teen. He'd seen him around, of course, since they were in the same year, but he had never personally met him and thus didn't know his name. Evidently the boy didn't know his name, either, or else he refused to use it.

As soon as he'd caught up, he found the boy asking him to hold something for him. Jack didn't have time to say a word before the boy picked up the sled and shoved it against his chest, telling him to hold onto it for a second and not to let go. The redhead's thick brows drew together in confusion as the black-haired boy took continued walking away still holding onto the jump rope. Was Jack supposed to follow? Or just stay where he was while holding the sled?

Since he hadn't been asked to follow, he opted for staying where he was until the rope was taut with the distance between them. The boy tugged on the rope hard and Jack barely managed to avoid falling forward into the snow as the sled was pulled on, shooting out his leg to support himself.

"Whoa, hey! A little warning, next time?"

As Jack began to take note of all the items in the boy's possession, he began to get increasingly worried. They didn't look like they would lead to anything good and the fact that the boy was using a jump rope to tie to the sled did not bode well.

"Uh...so just what are you planning on doing?" he finally dared to ask, readjusting the sled in his grip. It was starting to feel pretty heavy.

@Elsian Cox

He winced, yeah his bad…“Sorry,” he laughed, dropping the rope into the snow with a shrug and lopsided smile. “I didn’t really think that one through.”

Wouldn’t happen again. He kept that thought in mind as he made a gesture for the other to follow, getting a bit closer to his things before dropping the rope in favor of his broom. Said broom, being a glorified birch tree, because it was in fact basically a birch tree, made for a perfect broom to tie the rope onto. Just near where trunk met spreading branches and leaves was the perfect spot to fasten it, and dropping to his knees he did just that, giving it a strong tug for good measure.

Standing he looked to his newest victim, whether the other realized or not, he lifted up the heavier set broom with a smile. “Pull please,” he said, gesturing to the sled again. The moment he did, with the rope going taut he’d make to put down the broom, “thanks, you can drop that now.” The knots weren’t coming undone anytime soon, not unless it broke during the game!

With very little finesse he dumped red and gold tinsel onto the broom branches and began winding, because he thought it was very fitting and had been meaning to decorate his broom as obnoxiously as possible to mess with his friends during flying lessons. “Huh? Oh-” He looked up from his work, finally really taking the other in, “just getting ready for a game,” he offered pleasantly, but it was in fact another of Elsians deathtraps. “See those gifts?” He pointed out in the distance and nearby to the colorful wrapping, best investment ever. “The goal is to get as many of those into this,” the large bag was shook, “before time is up. But you gotta do it while on the sled or you're disqualified.”

“Hold this.” A bundle of green ribbon pushed into the other boys hand, Elsian nudged a small pouch with his shoe, the bells inside rang loudly, “tie the bells to the string and tie it to this,” the tree broom was wiggled at the boy, and promptly pushed upright against a tree for the boy before Elsian was twisting around to drag the sled and bag slightly out of the way onto a even flat of snow.


A perfect launch area.

He looked back to the other taking in everything. Even if the other hadn’t done as he asked, it was perfect. Or, at least good enough! “Hey-” Elsian paused, looking a bit embarrassed as he smiled, “um, what’s your name again? I…don’t think I actually asked?” Dusting the snow off his knees he made to grab the broom again, holding the newly decked out broom, “Thanks for helping me by the way, I’m Elsian.” Balancing the broom on his shoulder he aimed the other a sheepish grin, “and…can you help me with one more thing? Last thing I promise!”

He just needed a test elf…

Jack blinked as he was asked to pull the sled and did so. At least the kid was polite. Soon he was told to drop the sled, so he set it down and dusted off his hands, trying to make sense of the scene before him. The boy immediately began to wind red and gold tinsel onto the branches of his broom and Jack raised a brow at the gaudiness of it. Was he trying to make a flying Christmas tree out of his broom or something?

At last, his question was answered when the boy explained that he was...'getting ready for a game'. It was unlike any game Jack had ever seen, but perhaps it was a wizarding world thing and thus he, as a muggle-born, wouldn't have known about it. He glanced over when the boy asked if he saw the gifts in the distance and he nodded. Evidently, the goal was to collect said gifts into a large bag before the time ran out. Jack looked skeptical. "But...what does the broom have to do with it?" Maybe one was supposed to sweep the gifts into the bag with the broom?

Before he could ask any more questions, he was given a bundle of green ribbon to hold and told to tie bells from a small pouch to the string. Apparently, he was also supposed to tie the string with the bells to the broom which looked more like a tree than a broom and Jack wasn't sure it was safe to fly.

Still staring at the ribbon in his hand and the pouch presumably of bells at his feet, he found himself being asked his name and being given one in turn. "Jack. My name's Jack Burnett," he said, trying to place the other boy's name. "Sorry, what's your last name, Elsian?" He wasn't really in the habit of calling people by their first names as he felt it was a bit too intimate, especially for people he had just met.

When he was asked if he could help Elsian with one more thing, Jack rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Yeah, sure, but...are you sure this game is...safe? I mean, you've got the sled tied to that broom with a jump rope. Shouldn't you at least - I don't know, use the gluing spell or something to make sure it stays tied to it?"

@Elsian Cox

The Slytherin boy received the most dumbfounded look from the Gryffindor, the boy's brow pinched with Elsian turning to tilt his head at the other as if wordlessly saying, ‘are you an idiot?’

“To fly?” He paused before shaking his head, looking no less confounded but turning a bit more amused, as if realizing something. “How else would the sled be dragged around?” He didn’t dare say more on the subject though. Rather he thought the whole thing would be plenty fun as a surprise.

Still, he wasn’t about to make fun at the others' expense before he got the other onto the sled, nor was he willingly about to warn the boy off either! No use chasing away his sled tester. “It’s safe enough!” He waved off. “Better than being hexed in dueling or hit by a bludger at least!” At least in this game the worst you could get was a crash cushioned by snow and fake Christmas gifts, sure you might smack the head or break an arm…but it was pretty tame all things considered!

At least it was in his mind…

“Oh it’s just Elsian,” he agreed thoughtlessly. Thinking the boy was just trying to be polite he waved away any attempts, “and thanks Jack.”

“Now that sounds like cheating.” Elsi pulled a face, as if the very idea of spelling the things together made the whole game pointless. “Where’s the challenge? That makes it too easy.” He turned away, leading the anxious boy to the sled.

“Besides…” He said confidently. “It's a sturdy jump rope.”

As if the fact it was sturdy was a Ministry sent seal of approval. And honestly…wasn’t it?

“And all I need you to do,” he began, setting down the broom a bit aways in front of the sled, rope only slightly giving slack between sled and broom, “is sit on the sled…or lay on it? Whatever's best, while holding this.” The bag was handed to Jack with a grin. “I’m just going to start dragging you by the broom a bit and you say how easy it is.” As if to punctuate the statement the boy moved to where he’d put down the broom the moment Jack got on the sled. But he didn’t immediately ride it like one might fear, just picked it up and as promised started dragging the boy forward a bit, as if testing the waters. He pulled a bit quicker with a jolt as if trying to get the other to fall off

He was in reality just getting the other closer to the small downward slope of snow near them. It’d be a far more fun launch pad…plus the other would be less inclined to bail if they went fast enough to deter him quickly.

“Is it hard holding on while holding the bag?” He asked innocently.

It was in fact not innocent.

Nor did he really care about the others' answers. “Ahuh.” He hummed, slowing a bit as he got to the slope. “Just one more thing,” he began, gripping the broom a bit more tight. With a grin he stopped right by the edge,“hold on tight, and try to grab some of the gifts alright?”

Elsian would give the other no chance to get off the sled and he wouldn’t listen to any panicked words or demands to stop. It’d have been too late either way, as Elsian had already made up his mind to take off on that ridiculously decorated broom, zipping over snow and flying along the slope in an attempt to stay semi close to the ground as the jump rope pulled taut and with a lurch pulled the sled, and one Slytherin down the snowy path of holiday spirited destruction.

He laughed loudly when the sled briefly left snowy ground before skidding through snow, throwing a glance back at the ‘sleigh’ and Jack just to make sure the other hadn’t fallen off. “You holding on alright?”

At Elsian's dumbfounded look and response, Jack stared. His eyes grew huge as he processed what the other boy was saying. "But - but why are you tying a sled to a flying broom? Are you trying to get the sled to fly?" The more he spoke aloud, the worse an idea it sounded. "What are you, Santa Claus? Why can't you just sled down some hill like a normal person?"

Because they're not normal here. They're all magical, his brain reminded him. It didn't reassure him much about the idea being a bad one, however. When Elsian continued, it sounded like he meant for the broom to simply drag the sled after it, not fly it, so that was a relief, at least. Still, things like the use of a jumprope had him extremely skeptical.

Despite being told it was 'safe enough', Jack had his doubts, but he thought the Gryffindor was probably right about it being better than getting hexed in dueling or hit by a bludger from quidditch. That was, of course, provided one didn't crash into a tree or hit their head on a rock hidden in the snow or something. He tried not to think about it. Leave it to a Gryffindor to come up with such a reckless game, he thought instead, but had to smirk at the ingenuity of it.

"Your name is just Elsian? No last name?" Jack asked, surprised. "It's just - I don't tend to call people by their first names because it feels a little too...intimate to me."

When he was told that using the glueing spell sounded like cheating, his mouth dropped open in astonishment. "What do you mean, 'it sounds like cheating'? Isn't using a broom to propel a sled 'cheating'? I'd just call it being resoruceful." And safer. But the boy seem set on keeping his game as it was.

"Right...sturdy," Jack repeated, his tone unconvinced. Maybe sturdy enough for a child to step on. Pulling someone's weight, though? Maybe not so much...

Soon, Elsian described what he wanted Jack to do and Jack began to realize that he was going to be the victim. He couldn't very well turn down the Gryffindor at this point lest he find some other unsuspecting fool to come along and use as a guinea pig. Besides, what he was telling him to do didn't sound too bad. It sounded like Elsian planned to start off slow. Jack could handle that. Right?

The redhead took the bag he was handed and tired to return Elsian's grin, though it was quite an uneasy one. Going to seat himself on the sled, he watched his peer go over to the broom and pick it up. From there, he dragged the sled a little bit and, to Jack's relief, the jumprope seemed to hold. Then he tugged a little harder, but Jack still managed to stay on.

"Um...it's a little tricky, but I think I can manage," the Slytherin told his companion when asked if it was hard holding on while holding the bag. He tried to use both hands to clutch the sled while still keeping a grip on the edge of said bag. Elsian seemed to hum an acknowledgement. Then he went on to stay there was one more thing.

He was to 'hold on tight and try to grab some of the gifts'.

"Um...what?"

But before he could process anything else, it was too late. Elsian had taken off and hadn't seemed to hear Jack's question. Away they swept downhill on the slope Jack hadn't realized was there, snow flying everywhere in their wake. Jack could only hold on for dear life, too shocked to even think about trying to collect any presents along the way, as they rushed onward.

At one point, Elsian turned his head back to ask Jack if he was holding on alright. Jack opened his mouth to bellow a response over the sound of the air whooshing past.

"I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU!"

@Elsian Cox

Oh, so that’s why-

His nose wrinkled at the very thought of being called by his last name, made him feel old. Made him feel like Jack was old. He was far too young and too filled with glorious, horrible, life-threatening ideas to feel old.

“Yep!” He said like the lying liar he was.

“Just Elsian. Sorry.” He was very much not sorry.

This boy was making too much sense, but not in any good way. The boring way. The same type of way that his friends tried to convince him to do his work early because then he'd be able to mess around for the rest of the week, didn’t they know his best work came from procrastinating and then panic working? Obviously not. “It’s not the same thing,” he huffed, because it really wasn’t in his opinion. “Spelling it to not mess up is cheating because half the fun is figuring out how to keep going when things go wrong! Maybe it is resourceful…but it’s also boring.”

He grinned at the other briefly as they moved. “Very sturdy.” He agreed, then paused. “I think.”

Hopefully it was sturdy. But then again Elsian didn’t know much about jump rope integrity. But it would be fine. This would be a good learning experience.



Oh good he could manage!

…

‘What’ he said. This snake wasn’t very quick on the uptake, was he?

Then again neither had William when dragged down the staircase on that sled…or Hen with the water balloons…or-

Huh, y’know now that he thought about it Elsian was starting to see a pattern here when it came to snakes.

Drawn out of his musing at his new accomplices' screams he cackled, turning away to swerve them sideways towards a tree that housed a good pile of presents. He proceeded to let out a small screech of his own when he underestimated the sled's speed and found himself almost slamming sideways into said tree. “Grab one! Grab ONE-” The sled, and his new snake bestie who was totally gonna kill him, slid straight into the gifts. He couldn’t be sure, but he swore he could hear Jack's patience snap as gifts smacked into the boy.

Elsian sped up to narrowly avoid his tree demise or risk losing Jack via the boy deciding it was safe to jump ship. The sled and Jack were dragged through the pile. “Aw,” he complained, raising his voice over the wind as they flew, or rather Elsian dragged his victim via sled towards the next pile of gifts. “Did you even TRY to grab one?!”

It sure didn’t LOOK like he tried to grab one.

Elsian squinted behind him at Jack, trying to sneak a look to see if the boy had or had not in fact grabbed one of the gifts. The sled bounced aggressively over a pile of snow. Smacking into the ground and almost dragging the broom off center with the force. Elsians teeth rattled as he tightened his grip on the broom and flew a bit lower, this was tricker than he thought it’d be!

“Bet you didn’t even try to get one.” He grumbled, wind covering his words. “Bet you a galleon you can’t snag a single present!” He threw at the other, taunting, goading. Honestly at this rate Elsian wasn’t sure the other could!

They swerved by another pile, and this time Elsian was in fact able to drag the sled around the pile in a circle mostly smoothly before they were off again towards a single, large gift he’d put atop a tree stump. They only almost hit the pile once!

Jack rose a brow suspiciously when Elsian claimed his full name was simply his one name without any surname, but made no comment. He despised liars, but he supposed it could have been true. If it wasn't true, Jack supposed Elsian could have simply asked to be called by his first name instead of his last name, so there was little reason for him to have lied. Right?

Ooookay. Anyone who called being resourceful 'boring' put up little red flags in Jack's book. This kid was straight up trouble. The dangerous kind. By the time he had solidified this opinion in his head, though, it was already too late. He was careening down a snowy kill with hazards at every turn while being pulled along by a madman on a Christmas tree of a broom.

"HOW am I supposed to grab one when one hand is holding on to the sled and the other to the bag, you nitwit?!" he hollered at his peer as he smacked into a pile of gifts, certain now that Elsian belonged in a loony bin. Though he might have thought nearly slamming into a tree or sliding into the presents would cause the Gryffindor to slow down, somehow, he just sped up instead.

Gritting his teeth, Jack let the bag go and, with his newly-freed hand, snatched for one of the wrapped boxes. Upon being taunted that he couldn't snag a single present, the Slytherin caught a gift and hefted it underneath his opposite arm. Then he reached over the side of the sled to grab for another.

Then he tossed the present he had caught straight at Elsian's head, soon followed by the other. Suddenly, he had a new motivation for snatching up the boxes as they went along. Hopefully for Elsian's sake, those boxes were empty or else contained only really light, harmless contents, because Jack was throwing them with all of his might.

"Take that, you psychotic sadist! And that, and that!" In between presents, he simply stuck his hand into the snow to collect it for a snowball as they went along so he never had to run out of projectiles even when the gifts were out of reach.

@Elsian Cox

He laughed, loud and unabashed.

“I don’t know-” honestly he hadn’t thought that far, this probably would have worked better if there were two of them huh? One to hold the bag and the other to grab gifts. Oh well!

Next time, he promised himself.

“-get creative! Use that ambition you snakes are known for!” Wait… He threw a look back at the other boy as they slowed down enough to make a circle around a few trees, “you are a Slytherin aren’t you?” Well, even if he wasn’t, there was probably at least one trait from each of the houses he could exploit for the sake of his defense.

They cleared the trees, the sled rode dangerously wobbly as they went over what must have been barely hidden snow covered roots or rocks, and yet, it was a true holiday miracle. For Jack did not fall or get tipped like Elsian half expected! He didn’t know how to feel about that; but they cleared it either way, this time without the threat of Jack and the sled hitting the trees! Progress~

“Nitwit!?” He shouted over the wind, throwing a fake glower behind his shoulder at the Slytherin. “Says the blockhead who can’t even figure out how to scoop up a single gift! How are you this BAD at the challenge?”

And that likely marked the end of Jack's patience, but Elsian wouldn’t have known that, couldn’t have known, because he couldn’t exactly see the look on the others face when he was speeding up around some thicker snow piles and hills just to mess with Jack. Nor had he seen the other drop the bag, or the way the boy seemed to get a determined look about him as he snatched up another gift. No, he wouldn’t notice until they turned around after getting the sled to kick up some snow and saw the bloody bag all the way over there!

“Wha-! Oh c’mon,” he groaned, twisting his head as they slowed down getting ready to taunt the other, “you couldn’t even hold onto an empty ba-” A bright, stripped box of cheer and violence smacked him in the face hard, bits of snow and ice that’d clung to the glossy paper clinging to his hair as Elsian yelped, and then outright squawked in outrage and surprise as other one, this one much heavier followed right after! Hitting him in the side where he’d turned and almost sending him toppling right off the broom from surprise! “You-! Hey STOP THA-” A muffled squawk when the presents suddenly turned to straight out cold, icy, snowballs.


This was an outrage. Attacked, sabotaged by his own holiday helper as the boy flung gifts at his head, uncaring if some of them felt heavier than others, suspiciously about the weight of a few rocks. Oh when would the brutality end?

“Oh that’s how you want to play it-!”

He abruptly turned straight into a pile of gifts near a hill, bowling straight through it in what was likely an unpleasant experience for the other as Elsian was rather sure those were the ones he’d put the extra heavy rocks in~ Try and throw those. “Oh clumsy me,” he threw out pleasantly. Another sped up turn around bumpy areas where the snow was thick and the terrain uneven enough the Gryffindor was able to stick out his foot and kick up snow straight at the others face, ducking with a hiss as another of the boys snowballs hit his neck. “Oops, my bad-”

One hit his head slightly harder than the others. And Elsian, was left with the alarming and slightly hysterical thought that there might’ve accidentally been a rock in that one! “OW, that’s it!”

Thus began what could only be the most childish fight on a broomstick ever, with Elsian snatching up a few presents himself and throwing them at Jack as the other traded between snow and present projectiles. He felt a deep horrible satisfaction as he aimed for the other's big head. It perhaps would look silly from an outsiders point of view, funny even, possibly downright ridiculous. But it was a battle of wills, bitterness and perhaps pride in that moment, with Elsian refusing to stop now that this had begun and Jack apparently choosing violence in an attempt to murder or at least maim him via festive projectiles and dangerous, icy snow.

This was not safe flying. And they would soon suffer the consequence of reckless flying and distracting the driver as they flew perhaps a bit too close to the edge of a steeper part of the hillside they were on, and the sled, wobbly with Jack's actions and Elsians flying, smacked on a rock and toppled partly down the hill in a violent, show stopping act. Elsian, had not been ready, and had felt the way the sled caught, like a damned anchor on a ship and had been dealt the horrible feeling of almost going flying if not for his grip. One could only imagine how Jack was faring. But sadly the broom's significantly lessened momentum was not enough to stop Jack and the sled toppled down the steep hill at an alarmingly fast rate…

It also was not enough to stop the broom from being dragged too, a small startled shout being the only notice from the Gryffindor before he and the broom were toppling into the sled and Jack down, down down-

Elsian might’ve screamed. Jack might’ve made a death threat.

Alas, the world would never know as they all went tumbling down into a large snowbank that might’ve once been the first defense of an epic snowball war.

It would perhaps now serve as a fine grave for Elsi.

“Ow…” Elsian groaned. Or tried to. It was significantly more challenging to do so when buried in snow. Fumbling, he slowly dragged himself from his spot along the bottom of part of the snow bank, sputtering and smacking at the thick snow the clung to his hair and made its way past his jacket. He looked around, noticing his broom buried in snow atop the odd makeshift snow walling that’d must have helped stop their fall into peril and was suddenly struck by the fact that Jack had indeed snagged a present.

“Huh…I guess I owe you a galleon now.”

"Ambition has nothing to do with getting creative! Creativity is Ravenclaw's thing!" he hollered over the sound of the wind speeding past them. "And yes, I am a Slytherin! After this, I'm going to show you just how ambitiously creative I can get!"

He continued to hold on for dear life as if his hand was cemented to the sled, gritting his teeth against the rush of cold air that blew into his face. "How am I bad at this challenge? Maybe because the idiot who thought of it didn't even think it through!" Jack hoped his projectiles of present boxes and snowballs would be enough to slow or even stop the crazed student so the nightmare of a sleigh ride could end as soon as possible. One present that hit Elsian in the side almost managed to dislodge him from his broom, but to no avail.

And then there were more gifts. The Gryffindor sent the sleigh careening into the pile, this one with much heavier contents than the other so Jack could hardly pick one up, let alone throw it. Why he'd made these ones so heavy, the Slytherin had no idea, but he was long past trying to figure out Elsian's reasoning if he'd even had any. As he was struggling to grasp a box, the broomrider stuck out his foot to send a spray of snow behind him straight into Jack's face. "ELSIAN!" Jack roared, enraged. But the troublemaker only seemed pleased by his attack even as he dodged another of Jack's.

Spitting out snow and trying to shake it off of him, he thought he heard Elsian exclaim with an 'OW' as one of his other snowballs hit his hand. And then, suddenly, there were presents flying back at Jack. The redhead was sorely tempted to simply take out his wand and stun Elsian on his broom or knock him out of the sky or something, but with his focus stuck on staying seated on the sleigh and now present projectiles to worry about, he wasn't sure he could have managed a single spell properly. Besides, if he stopped Elsian so suddenly, he might have seriously ended up hurting them both if they crashed.

So Jack persisted as best he could, dodging when he could manage and continuing to pick up and throw presents and snowballs. It was harder for him than it was for Elsian since the wind was against him, but he imagined it couldn't have been that easy trying to throw stuff behind you when you were trying to fly a broom, either.

Sure enough, the sled hit a rock and toppled a little way down the hillside. Jack used both hands to grab the sled then, curling into as much of a ball as he could and shutting his eyes tight as he waited for everything to come to a stop. Unfortunately it picked up speed as it fell down the hill before it slowed down, dragging the broom it was tied to along with it as the broom's rider gave a small, startled shout and both boys were pulled along gravity's path toward the bottom of the hill.

Eventually they hit a large snowbank where the sled, broom, and boys crashed to a halt and Jack remained motionless for a time, praying everything was finally over. When he heard Elsian groan, he gradually unlatched himself from the sled and tried to push himself up into a standing position, but he had to extricate himself from the snow and sled first. His whole body seemed to ache and he felt like one big bruise as he did so, but he finally managed to get free of everything. Then he saw Elsian, too, drag himself from the depths of the snowbank.

Trudging slowly, he made his way over to his peer with a grim expression. "Are you hurt badly anywhere?" He thought he himself had gotten lucky with just a few cuts and scrapes, but he needed to make sure the foolhardy lion was at least as unharmed as he was before he tried to kill him for what he'd done.

But Elsian's first comment was that he guessed he owed Jack a galleon now. Jack stared at him, then threw his head back and laughed. That? That was what he was thinking about right now?

"Remind me never to trust you ever again about anything," he said, taking a handful of snow, going to lift Elsian's shirt and jacket, and attempting to cram the frozen water down his back.

@Elsian Cox