Closed Falling for you

And then she --- fell asleep!

WHAT!?

Colin moaned. Opal was snuggled all nice and comfy against him. That felt really nice. He couldn't help but think of Clair and how super awesome it would feel for them to snuggle like this! Colin smiled. he just hoped that Clair wouldn't have to drown or be attacked by a troll or something for it to happen. Even just in the library! That would be sooooo sweet!

But for now, he was with Opal, and she needed help. Colin couldn't just leave her here of course. Anyway, she was all wrapped up in his shirt and cloak! Her own clothes, in a heap near the fire, were still quite damp and the girl was in no fit state to get dressed in wet clothes. Colin wondered what he should do.

Well, first off, he wondered where he should take her. She wasn't hurt and she wasn't dead, so he reckoned she didn't need any medical attention. All she needed, really, was to rest. She couldn't do that here, so, hauling her back to the common room seemed to be the best option. Also, perhaps one of their prefects would be able to decide something else. He briefly wondered who he should look for. Frankly, Opeila and Cassandra were terrifying! They'd probably send both of them to Azkaban --- he remembered how Salwis sent poor Quinn to detention last year just for almost drowning! Surely Opal would be expelled, or maybe something worse!

Monica! Not terrifying at all. In fact, Nica was really cool! Colin smirked. Totally cute too! Blue hair, gorgeous smile! Really fun to be with! His mind drifted back to last summer when he spent a whole day with her in London! Yeah, he'd look for Monica! And then he could get his shirt back.

"Extinguo." Colin put out the fire he'd started. No sense leaving that to burn carelessly! He laid Opal out carefully on the ground. He wasn't quite sure what to do with those, so he dumped the heap onto Opal's lap. He crouched down, hooked his arms under her knees and around her back, then hoisted her up.

Opal's forehead was warm against Colin's shoulder, and she wasn't heavy. Her golden blonde hair fell over his back and chest. Her breath felt soft on his neck. He wondered what it would feel like for Clair's hair to fall over his chest this way. He realised that he'd have to walk through the courtyard and castle without a shirt on. And a girl in his arms. A girl who wasn't Clair. A girl who had almost died. A girl who was wearing his shirt and cloak.

Colin let out a puff of air.

"Well lad," he said; "it won't be the first time I've walked through the castle without a shirt on." He laughed softly, not wanting to wake Opal. He recalled the duels where fire had burnt his shirts to a crisp, so that was on brand for him. "Well lad, nothing for it then!" Colin began the journey from the lakeside and back up towards the castle.

@Opal Brinkman | Mentions @Clair Fernandez | @Monica Evans

@Colin McCoire

Colin took his time getting back up to the castle. There was no reason to rush, and Opal seemed to be peacefully sleeping. Hopefully dreaming something nice after what she just went through! It wasn't the first time he'd thought about this, but there seemed to be so many kids he didn't know. Colin had no idea how many students Hogwarts had or how many were in Slytherin. It just seemed like he could meet new students every day!

That was kind of odd, if you think about it. All these kids that Colin could swear weren't here in September were now all of a sudden everywhere! In classes, in the great hall, in the common room. Just as if they'd been here all along! It was uncanny really. And then, of course, there were all the kids that disappeared. Suddenly. They'd been in school for as long as Colin could remember, he sat with them in class, he ate lunch with them, some he crushed on, others he adventured with. And then --- poof! They were gone. Some without a trace, others at least said goodbye.

Colin sometimes wondered if he'd disappear too, like the others. He wondered if those left behind would remember him or even notice his departure. It was really rather sad the way no one...

Colin was suddenly dragged from his reverie by Opal. The girl in his arms jerked about as if she were in a terrible dream! She murmured something, but Colin couldn't catch any of the words. She screamed and Colin decided to stop. He crouched down and cradled the poor girl close. She must have been having some kind of nightmare! "Opal! Wake up! You're having a bad dream! What's happening?" he said.

Colin knew about bad dreams, so he just held Opal close and let her wake up. As she did, she was really crying. Her arms clung tightly around his body and she was shaking. She must have been hit by a really bad dream. "It's okay lass, you're okay now. You're away from the Dreamland now." He spoke quietly, trying to soothe her. He brushed her hair away from her face. "Whatever happened there can't get you here, lass."

@Opal Brinkman

Unfortunately, the dream did not seem to be a very pleasant one. Opal sat shivering against him, curled up. She was crying even worse. Drat. Dragging a girl half dead out of the lake and giving her the kiss of life was easy compared to all the dreams and crying that followed! Colin listened to her as she spoke at last. It happened for real!? She had just been dreaming something that she saw happen already.

Colin took a deep breath.

He looked confused. She was only eleven or twelve! What could have possibly happened to her that make her dream something so horrible? Tales and whispers that he'd heard in the hall or in the common room came back to him. Aye. This is Hogwarts after all, and magical kids are often subject to strange stories. His own was certainly no walk in the woods!

"So, er. What happened?" Colin asked.

And Opal told him everything.

She told him about driving in a motor car. Colin knew all about those! No wonder the poor girl is having nightmares! What with the way muggles careen all over the streets, trying to run a poor wizard down when he wants to cross! Anyone would be scared, if they were forced to ride in a motor car! Colin wasn't sure exactly what a soft ballgame was. He reckoned it must be some wacky muggle thing. Visions of muggle kids playing with sponge filled balls soon crossed his mind. He reckoned you could throw a soft sponge ball right at someone's head and they'd not even notice!

She said something about singing and a drunken driver. Colin wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he knew that drunk people got all stupid and did bat shit stuff. Like setting their farts on fire with magic. Presumably, muggles got into motor cars and went driving. That didn't sound any smarter to Colin's way of thinking.

Colin drew a sharp breath when she described the wounds and injuries. Broken arms and concussions --- those are easy enough to heal, Colin well knew. But being impaled was not something you usually walk away from. Colin felt so very sad for Opal. He didn't have any words to respond to her with. There were none, really. The only thing he could offer her was his own broken heart. "I'm sorry, lass. My brother --- Liam --- he died this summer. I --- I kind of know what you're going through."

She didn't ask the question aloud.

Colin was certain that it was the same question he asked himself over and over.

Why did he have to die?

Colin set Opal down on her feet again. There was only one thing he could do. He hugged Opal as tight as he dared. It had worked on him when he told Clair and AngelFyre about Liam. They had the right words to say to him, while Colin really had no idea what to say to Opal. But his best friend's hug had worked wonders on him, and maybe it work on this girl he'd just met too.

@Opal Brinkman

@Colin McCoire

The hug was all Colin could give Opal. If anyone had a camera at that moment, it would have made for a lovely picture! Standing on the grass just outside the arched gateway that led to the courtyard, stood a boy and a girl in a tight embrace. She was wearing his shirt and his robes. Anyone who hadn't known what happened might get the wrong impression! Colin held on to the girl as long as she wanted.

He knew what bad dreams were like, but to have the same horrible dream tormenting you over and over: that Colin could scarcely imagine. It was bad enough when thoughts of Liam and the sadness he felt came over him during the day! And those times came often enough. Perhaps, at least for him, it was something of a balm for his soul that he either did not have nightmares of his brother's death, or else he somehow forgot the dreams.

As Opal held on to him tightly, Colin wondered about something. This girl had seen her brother die and she dreamt of him often. Colin hadn't seen Liam die. His thoughts flew back to the meadow beyond the old stone cottage. To the night of the skirmish. He and Liam had fought side by side. They'd been separated. When their attackers escaped, Colin lost track of Liam. It wasn't until a day or two later that his parents were able to make sense of what happened. It was then that they got the horrible news --- Liam was dead.

Yet, Colin never had any terrible dreams about him. No nightmares. No flashbacks.

That seemed odd to him, now that he thought about it. Clearly Opal loved her brother and she was so strongly affected by his death. This troubled Colin. He loved Liam, so why wasn't he affected this way too? He decided that he'd have to ask AngelFyre about this. Maybe Clair too. They were the smartest girls he knew, and were bound to have some insight to the matter!

Just as Colin began planning how to ask, Opal threw her arms his neck! "Eep!" And with a suddenness and a strength that surprised the boy, she kissed him! Colin had learned to kiss --- a bit --- during the spin the bottle game last fall. He wondered if Opal had played that game before too! His heart thumped and his spine felt all tingly! She held on to him for quite a while, too, which Colin didn't mind in the least! It was just like in the heroic fantasies he'd read! After the battle or the rescue, the main characters snog for a while!

When Opal pulled away from him at last, Colin took a deep breath. He nodded appreciatively. She said something about needing that. Colin smiled. He said: "Aye. I needed that too!" Whoa! His heart began to pound again: he could not wait for him and Clair to kiss the way AngelFyre and her Simon do! Oh goodness! Colin would never let that girl go!

He stepped back from Opal a bit, not quite sure what to make of that kiss. It didn't quite fit into Colin's Philosophy on Snogging. But it didn't quite not fit either. He looked Opal up and down. He let out a puff of breath. He'd have to work on that philosophy some more! "Er. Thanks Opal," he said softly. Colin straightened up and stuck his chest out. "That was ace, lass!" It was then he saw that her glasses had gotten broken somehow. Maybe that happens when you snog? Too much energy or something.

"Oh!" He drew his wand from its sheath wrapped around his right arm. He pointed it at Opal's face. "Oculus reparo! Brills!" he said happily. "That fixes that! So, er. What say we get back inside? I --- er. I will kind of need me shirt and robe back?"

@Opal Brinkman