Scar on Skin, Scar on Soul. PV

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Interacts. @Aurelia Notresvace ═══════════════════	xx	EN #664d00, GR, RU #A57865 24/10/2022 | Casual wear [x] ═══════════════════	xx	Mentions. @Xailah Alptraum, @Howard White ═══════════════════

The doors parted to a sturdy wall of a young man; features twisted into that of utter concern. The reason? None other than the letter left outside his quarters, notably absent of any information save for a time and place. When Lysander initially read it, its ambiguity did little to settle his nerves, but it was from her, her penmanship and seal hard to imitate. They hadn't been on speaking terms. That alone was enough to guiltily draw him away from packing to retrace his steps back into the castle. “You wrote for me,” he blurted first after staring, patting his breast pocket where her letter lay. He closed the door behind him.

Aurelia embraced him with sweet declarations. I missed you. Painfully enough, Lysander missed her too, despite his arms that hovered safely away from her frame as not to further trifle with her commitment to another. He shut his eyes. When they opened again, they passed over Aurelia's loveliness for witnesses of this great sin he was committing. The ward was seemingly empty and sterile as tended to be on a slow day, but that did not make their relationship now any less perilous.

Eventually, something would have to give.

Surely, she must have felt it too, but that was a problem for his future self. In the present, Lysander pricked up his ears to Aurelia's request for his support, approval evident on his face towards this new development of hers. Honored as he was to be entrusted with such a milestone, he was still tentative to be seen near her in any capacity. “That's fantastic news,” Lysander said after a brief squeeze to her shoulders—a subtle means, he hoped, of relaying 'Not here,' without hurting her feelings.

He bristled when Aurelia took his hand, neck craning towards the door in anticipation of her colleagues. “Xailah. What's her part in all of this?” he asked, noting the stranger’s name. Although Bristol born and raised, his transfer—extradition was more like it—to Durmstrang Institute years ago left a particular cousin as his best source of insight into the Hogwarts populace. A "Xailah" was not one of those commonly among their discussions, most unlike the name Aurelia would utter next.

Howard White. They'd never spoken, but Lysander knew of him well enough. He counted two strikes against the dhampir, on behalf of both cousin and girlfriend alike. So unsurprisingly, Lysander preferred he not show up at all. “No, he's not,” he half-laughed after a lingering silence, assuming that Aurelia was merely trying to be comedic. Although he had no right to question her choice in visitor, was it not his duty to protect those dearest? His head spun as he attempted to undo her intricate web of reasoning, gently separating their entwined hands when the witch made no indication of pulling his leg. “...You're serious. I don't understand, Aurelia. Why? He's the reason you're here.”

And for that fact alone, his presence would be simply unforgiveable. “He can stay outside.”

@Aurelia Notresvace | @Phaedra Stavrou | @Xailah Alptraum

Howard paced up and down the second floor corridor as he tried to prepare himself for what was to come. Though he had no physical scar to heal, being apart of this process just may provide some mending for his soul. Mostly it would be a chance to move on. To put his sin behind him, not to forget, but to finally process it fully and log it into one of life's many lessons. The dhampir had no idea what this would mean for Aurelia and his relationship. What could have been a friend or at least an ally would perhaps forever be doomed to this tense and complicated existence, but Howard was glad she could at least free herself from the trauma he had bestowed upon her. If he too would be able to achieve this would remain to be seen.

There was no point in further delaying. Aurelia had requested his presence and sent him the time and date. To be tardy would only add annoyance to an already tense situation, so Howard set off. As he neared the Hospital Wing entrance his sensitive nose would pick up on Aurelia's scent, but there was another as well. Most likely whoever was healing her, but the notes were really unfamiliar. Howard's long legs would cary him through the threshold and crimson eyes would soon meet with Aurelia's and another tall young man's. The stranger. Their proximity to each other suggested they knew each other well, perhaps on an intimate level, but Howard wouldn't let his gaze linger. He shifted in his stance a bit awkwardly as his eyes scanned to see who else may be present, but it seemed for now it would just be the three of them.

"Hello." Howard's tone relayed the bit of turmoil he was beginning to feel. Gone was the usual confidence he carried with him. "Im...here." He stated the obvious before moving closer to the pair. What was he supposed to do now? Stand in the corner as witness? Await instruction? Aurelia would take a seat on one of the medical cots and Howard followed suit. With a bit of a plop he sat down beside her. His gaze falling to the floor as guilt and shame began to creep its way through his veins. He would just sit here and wait, follow her lead, whatever she needed him to do. Distracted as he was, Howard didn't realize he had perhaps sat a touch too close to the girl he had maimed.

@Aurelia Notresvace, @Phaedra Stavrou, @Howard White

"Let this be a lesson," gloved hands were diligent as they wrapped a cloth around a cold compress, "as to why you should not provoke older students with jokes about their mother." This was addressed to a student- some little shit second year sitting on a cot, with a rapidly swelling black eye. "Or, if you're going to look for fights, at least have the gall to throw a punch back; because this is downright humiliating, is it not?" The compress was handed off to the child with simple instruction: "Hold this on your eye. If it gets uncomfortable you can take it off every now and then, but I would recommend keeping it on for as long as possible to get the swelling to go down quickly."

There was a pause as the same slender hands now grabbed for a small pot of something- an ointment it looked like. They held it up for the student to see. "When the swelling is gone, you can apply the Bruise Removal Paste around the area. It should take care of that shiner for you." Ooh, look at the fancy muggle lingo. "Do not apply it to your bulbus oculi-" a look of bemusement from the child, called for clarification of the carefully emphasized words, "that is your eyeball. Do not put the ointment on your eyeball. Please. I don't want to treat you for pink eye, or whatever nasty thing you second years might pick up naturally."

This was, more or less, what a typical volunteer day for Xailah looked like in the Hospital Wing. Not a day went by where there wasn't someone to treat- a younger student usually; they were always showing up with scrapes, be it from other children or whatever new object they chose to battle on that day. If she had a galleon for every kid that came in with their finger stuck inside a potion vial, she'd have four galleons, which isn't a lot, but it was certainly weird how it happened four times consecutively.

So how did you get your finger stuck?

I dunno.

Let me guess, the vial jumped up and bit you?

Exactly!

Ah, funny how the last three said the exact same thing.

At least the work could be amusing at times. Kept things interesting overall. Which, speaking of interesting; Xailah had found herself in the midst of a puzzling social affair just recently- in fact, she was presently waiting for the person(s) of interest at this very moment in time. The care she currently provided to those admitted to the Hospital Wing, was merely done to pass the time while she so patiently waited; the occasional, passive glance to the door was enough to show she was anticipating someone. Eventually, the large wooden slabs would croak their telltale song of a new arrival, before spreading their maw agape, to reveal the slender silhouette of ex-roommate and present housemate: Aurelia Notresvace. The fellow lioness was greeted with a silent, and slow, she-cat's blink.

Now, the dynamic between Aurelia and Xailah was an interesting one. It was really more of a mutual means for benefit.... kind of. They had their ups and their downs. Mostly downs- but nothing that would grow to do serious damage to their excuse of a relationship. Even if some of their encounters should have done just that. Xailah was indifferent towards Aurelia- as she was with most, if not all of the students here- and just like the rest of them, any relationships she allowed to forge were purely symbiotic on her end. They always had been, and nothing more. All that said, there would seem to be an underlying sense of trust buried beneath their passable interrelation; most evident when Aurelia had summoned Xailah to be the one to remove some "old scars". Or maybe, the befeathered lioness just yearned for a fleeting sense of familiarity during a presumably emotional time. Xailah herself knew that scars of any sort, were not simple matters; nor was the removal of one. But, that really wasn't any of her business.

Xailah obliged with Aurelia's request for time; nodding quietly, before resuming whatever she was in the middle of. It wasn't long before the arrival of another was picked out by keen ears. They were unfamiliar footfalls, but hardly unnoticed. They came with a stride that signified purpose, pride- and what were those, leather soles? Or rubber, dampened by the tile feathering the infirmary? Whatever they were, they echoed with the sharp clip, of high pedigree and money. A swift glance over the shoulder would allow the registry of the new presence, a young man, who seemed to gravitate towards Aurelia's cot. Huh. Their arguably uncomfortable (c'mon guys get a room, there's people here) exchange would go unwitnessed by the overseeing intern; their words and sweet nothings instead falling on the ears of whatever poor sod had the misfortune of sharing the cot adjacent to them.

If things weren't already interesting enough, there would be the addition of another to complete this peculiar meetup. What was this? A scar removal or a family reunion? Because it was starting to look more like the latter.

Did Aurelia mentioned she had invited others to witness the erasure of her unsightly blemishes? Maybe she did, Xailah must have missed that part of their conversation then. In any case, Howard White- fellow sixth year and a definitely recognizable face around campus- was something of an unexpected sight. But, not an unwelcome one. She couldn't quite explain it if she were asked to, but Xailah liked Howard in a, I think we would make good friends, sort of way; despite hardly having known him. Or maybe it was just some weird Hufflepuff pheromones of friendship he was releasing. Who knew at this point, honestly. He seemed like a fun(gi) guy either way.

With another glance, Xailah checked to make sure there weren't any other visitors planning to drop in, before making her way over to the Aurelia Cot. She did not seek pleasantries, or the name of the strange young man that had come in after Aurelia; instead, she sought to jump right into the situation at hand. Surely these folk didn't want to hang out in the infirmary any longer than they had to; it wasn't exactly the most pleasant place in the school. "Let me know when everyone is ready. This shouldn't take all that long since the procedure is only a simple potion application." Well, she assumed it wouldn't take long. With this bunch... who knew what could happen honestly. Despite being the most detached from Aurelia's whole mess of social affairs, there was no denying the strange overhang of tension in the air- not quite thick enough to be distracting, but enough to strum the strings of. Still, she couldn't say she was fond of whatever was brewing.