From Mandrake to Whomping Willow Finished

Irina's foot caught on something and she rolled the rest of the way down the hill, landing uncomfortably on top of Simon. "Got your wand! Okay. Get off, get off."
She grabbed the wand from his outstretched hand, taking a small sigh of relief at it's familiar feeling, before rolling off of him and onto the ground beside his motionless body. They lay there, silent and still, Irina thinking, ‘I’m gonna be as bruised as a Keeper in Quidditch.’
Irina closed her eyes tight, allowing her body to take in deep breaths of fresh air, filling her lungs with it, trying to absorb the smell and the taste of the gentle breeze. Irina reluctantly opener her eyes and saw that the stars were beginning to do the same. She stared for a moment at them, listening to the gentle lapping of the nearby Great Lake, before turning her head to see if Simon was okay.

She caught him staring back at her, they’re eyes locked, a million thoughts passing between them. After what felt like whole minutes, Simon’s face cracked into a grin and started laughing, causing her to start laughing too. Soon, they were rolling around on the hillside, sobbing with laughter, tears sliding down their muddied faces. Irina felt the familiar feeling of victory enveloping her mind, the sensation only felt when she had accomplished some great adventure. But it felt different this time - this time, she was sharing the feeling with someone else. And that made the feeling all the more valuable.

As she wiped the tears from her face, she turned to grin at Simon but saw his smile had been replaced by a look of shock. "You're bleeding."
He placed a hand gently to her cheek, causing her to wince and pull away, the cut burning where head touched it. What with the fear of being crushed by a tree and the adrenaline powering through her from their out of control escape, she had completely forgotten that the Willow had sliced open her cheek. She gingerly raised her own hand, noticing with some minor relief that the blood had dried over, meaning she probably wouldn’t lose anymore. Looking down at her shirt though, she saw with a small feeling of dread, just how much blood had seeped into her clothing. She looked up at Simon to see the horror on his face.
Not wanting him to know how bad the situation might be, she smiled and waved a hand, saying cheerily, “It’s fine - honestly, I’ve had much worse. I cut my head right open when I was attacked by a bowtruckle once!”
She gave him a reassuring smile before turning away to look at the sky, trying to gage roughly what the time was. Privately, she thought, ‘It's probably not as bad as it looks. I mean it’s stinging and aching a bit but that’s probably just cause of the grit that’s made it’s way into the cut!’

She turned back to Simon and smiled once more. “I reckon curfew starts in about half an hour, so as long as we make it back by then, we should be able to get into the castle on the way.”
She turned towards the Lake before starting to walk briskly (the hill was pretty steep) towards it. “We can wash our faces and clothes and stuff to try and make ourselves less conspicuous!” she yelled happily over her shoulder.
Despite the aches and pains covering her entire body, she hadn’t felt this alive since her last adventure. The night air was soothing against her burning cheek, the smells and sounds of the surrounding grounds comforting, at complete opposites to the echoes of the tunnel - a point that they were safe, the adventure was over and it’s events had become no more than memory.

“We can wash our faces and clothes and stuff to try and make ourselves less conspicuous!”

"I think that's a good idea", said Simon, although he was not a big fan of cold water. He knew perfectly well that the lakes of Scotland were not within his range of comfortable temperatures this time of year, but he was keen on not showing any signs of being a wimp in front of Irina, so he went along with it.

Irina took the lead as they made it down to the shore. Simon removed his shoes and socks and rolled up his dirty jeans before he waded out into the freezing cold water. He had to bite his tongue not to scream, but after just a while his feet and ankles got used to the temperature and suddenly it was as if the air was cold and the water warm.

"We should probably move quickly back to the castle so we don't get ourselves a cold out here", said Simon as he cupped his hands and washed his face.

It felt good to get rid of the half-dried mud, but he realized it was going to be harder to get the mud off their clothes. As he poured water over his legs his jeans became darker from the soaking water, making the mud less noticeable, but as soon as it dried he was pretty sure the mud was going to show. They would have to be very careful.

Interacting with @Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

Irina stopped by the very edge of the lake, staring for a moment into the crystal clear water, lapping at her toes. Nothing had ever seemed more beautiful. She hurriedly removed her socks and shoes, eager to enter the water (in all honesty, she would have forgotten to do this, but Simon had stopped as well, and not wanting to appear stupid, she had followed his example).
She then ran as fast as she could into the crystaline lake, giggling hyserically as the mind-numbing water lapped around her shins, causing her jeans to become soaked. After a few moments of jumping up and down to get her blood pumping, the water lost it's sharp sting, becoming mildly uncomfortable.
Irina and her family went camping and exploring all the time, so even though she didn't enjoy the freezing temperatures, it wasn't a completely unpleasent experience. In fact, it was almost nice - 'Reminds me of home,' she reminisced, smiling slightly as she bent down to scrub out her jeans.
The water around her began to cloud a murky brown as the mud washed out. She rolled up her sleeves and scrubbed her hands thoroughly too, before rubbing away any final stains on her clothes. The blood stains were harder to get out though - she decided to leave it and hope no one would pay too much attention. After cleaning her face of all mud and blood (careful around her cut) she finally deemed herself acceptably presentable.

Irina hurried from the lake, a silent agreement to Simon's point about getting back to the castle - her feet were completely numb. She fumbled with frozen fingers to tie her laces. She gave up on the knot and once more removed her socks and shoes, standing up. 'I'll walk barefoot for a while,' she thought, checking herself one final time.
"How's my hair? Any mud or twigs in it?"

The sky was a dusky orange, the tops of nearby trees dipped in dimming light. The castle was becoming a silouette against the sky and the light-filled windows appeared no more than candles on a black tablecloth. As they began walking towards it, Irina didn't think anything could have been more inviting after an (insanely terrifying) adventure. The grass felt warm under her feet after the dip in the lake and she was looking forward to being inside the warm castle.
A random tangent of a thought hit her, unsurprisingly as those kinds of thoughts happened all the time. She turned to Simon, deciding that the bond formed from nearly getting murdered by a tree was sufficient enough that she could safely ask the question.
"Yesterday you mentioned your sister . . . but then you changed the topic when I asked about her. Would I . . . am I allowed to ask now? Is everything alright?" Her tone was uncertain, nervous about whether Simon would shut down the conversation or not. But if he was sad or struggling, she wanted to help.

"How's my hair? Any mud or twigs in it?"

Simon starred at her. For a short moment he considered whether he should tell her the truth or not.

"You look like a princess", he said with no attempt of hiding the sarcasm. "Don't worry about it. Let's hurry back so we make it before curfew."

He dipped his muddy shoes in the water and put his dry socks and shoes back on. His hands were freezing at this point. A warm bath in the Ravenclaw Tower before laying down in his nice cozy bed seemed more and more tempting. One cannot be a full-time adventurer, after all, he thought. This episode had quite filled his daily dose of mischief.

As they started walking back towards the castle (where more and more windows were lit as the darkness closed in) there was a silence between them. Not an uncomfortable silence, but rather that kind of silence when you have been through so much together that you hardly know what to say. He was still processing everything that had happened back there, when Irina eventually broke the silence:

"Yesterday you mentioned your sister . . . but then you changed the topic when I asked about her. Would I . . . am I allowed to ask now? Is everything alright?"

Was it that obvious? That was very sharp of Irina to pick up on that, he thought. What was it with all these girls and constantly reading him? That almost made him miss Primary School. Clearly, as girls got older, they developed this impeccable ability to penetrate people's minds. He felt slightly uncomfortable, not because he felt forced to address the topic, but because he felt exposed. As if all his thoughts and emotions were glued on his outside, visible for anyone to see. But there was also another feeling. He had not expected that Irina would be much for deep talk, or one who was interested in talking emotions at all, for that matter. The fact that she was, and judging by the tone in her voice that seemed to signal genuine concern, this was a clear indication of something else. Perhaps he was not merely someone to dodge whomping willows with whenever you felt like it. Perhaps she was actually interested in being his... friend?

"Yes, it's... fine. Really", said Simon. The look of Irina's face seemed to urge him to continue. "My sister is a squib." He paused. "She is eight years older than me. We didn't find out that I was a Wizard until I was nine. Until then, it was like me, my mum and my sister, were just living ordinary lives, but with a Wizard in our family – my dad. But learning that I had inherited his magical abilities... That changed things. My mum and my dad were so proud, you see, but my sister... I don't know... It's just this feeling. Like I'm experiencing all this –", (he gazed upon the castle) "– at the prize of the relationship with my sister... Because ever since we found out, it's like she's been avoiding me. She stopped bringing her friends home and as soon as she finished high school she moved to London to start her own company. I overheard her arguing with my parents before I went to Hogwarts – they made her promise to write to me. She hasn't yet."

Simon took a breather and was silently cursing himself for talking so much. He felt somewhat pathetic. Like he was diminishing himself, lingering on small and insignificant problems, in front of this super cool Gryffindor that would not hesitate to run straight towards a whomping willow.

Interacting with @Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

"You look like a princess." If he had used any more sarcasm, his words probably would have melted form the weight of it.
Irina lifted an eyebrow and gave a mocking curtsy. "Yes, I know that peasant. Not everyone may have the good fortune to appear as I do." She lifted her chin into the air, acting 10 foot tall and strode past Simon, saying in a snooty voice, "You're right, peasant, we should begin heading back." Irina dropped the act with a giggle and continued walking down the hill.
Her cheeful mood settled however, as Simon opened up about his sister. She remained silent, listening intently as he poured his heart out to her. She found her respect for him grow measurably as he talked - it was no easy thing to confide your pains and emotions to someone you had only recently met. She knew this from experience.
Once he had stopped talking, she took a moment to contemplate what she should say. She could almost feel the embarrasment radiating off of him . . . or was it anger? Irina couldn't tell, but she knew he was having an internal battle.
She laid a hand on his arm, giving a small smile. "Thank you for telling me. It's not easy to just say all this stuff to some crazy kid you just met, so I'm sincerely grateful that you told me. It takes a heap of courage to shove your way past that kind of fear."
She paused once more, letting it sink in, so he could appreciate her respect for him.
"I'm so sorry about your sister. I can't imagine what it must be like to feel as if you're losing her. It must be really painful." Irina hesitated a second, wondering if giving advice was taking it a step too far. But she ploughed on reguardless.
"But that's the thing Simon . . . you haven't lost her! You don't need to change anything or do anything to fix a situation that isn't your fault, but you can still try and understand her viewpoint. I know that you feel like she hates you for being a wizard, but is it possible that she thinks you hate her cause she's not? Maybe she thinks you've chosen all of this over her?" She gestured randomly at Hogwarts.
"Just try telling her, and if that doesn't work . . . well, we can figure that out if it comes to it."
Irina looked down at the ground, kicking the grass in an absent-minded way, unsure what to say next. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as the breeze inched through her thin jumper. 'Have I gone too far?' she wondered nervously.

What happened next, Simon did not expect. It was like his image of Irina dismantled with every word she said and slowly got replaced with a new one; similar, but also different. As she was talking, he came to the realization that perhaps he hardly knew the real Irina Shevel, who she really was, beyond what he had seen in class, what he had got from their conversation yesterday and their adventure today. Clearly that had not been the full picture. This Irina was compassionate and observant, showing another type of brave as she embraced his worries and addressed them with both empathy and wisdom:

"But that's the thing Simon . . . you haven't lost her! You don't need to change anything or do anything to fix a situation that isn't your fault, but you can still try and understand her viewpoint. I know that you feel like she hates you for being a wizard, but is it possible that she thinks you hate her cause she's not? Maybe she thinks you've chosen all of this over her?"

This idea was completely new to him and so powerful that it was like his world turned upside down for a moment. He had a hard time seeing his sister Clara being afraid of losing him... But what if what Irina said was true? He had never really thought about that.

"Just try telling her, and if that doesn't work . . . well, we can figure that out if it comes to it."

'We'. There was something about the 'we' in the sentence that caused a warmness to spread in his stomach, and his cold and stiff shoulders to sink a bit. He took that as a sign that Irina was still going to be around tomorrow, which he had not been sure of a couple of moments ago. As if this escapade of theirs was just an exception from Irina's part. Why was it that he constantly feared losing those he cared about? As if sudden changes that were beyond his control would eventually take his friends away from him. But the 'we' was comforting and reassuring enough for now.

"Thanks, Irina", said Simon and could not help but smile. "I really don't know what to say... I guess you have a point, though. It's not like I've spoken to her about it. I know, I should have, before making guesses . . . So thanks." He really emphasized the last words.

They still had a couple of minutes left before they reached the castle. He noticed how cold Irina was as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Hey. Wanna borrow my jacket for the last bit? It's dry, part from the mud. After all you were to one to take a dip in the lake from head-to-toe back there."

The whole family topic had made him curious about where someone like Irina came from. What was her parents like? And what about that sister of hers, who apparently was a Ravenclaw. They seemed to have a good relationship. He wondered if the sister was more like his own sister (who was not the outdoor type at all) or if she too had a knack for coming home covered in mud after having been fighting off slimy creatures.

"You mentioned yesterday that you had a sister too . . . Idril, I believe was her name? And that both of your parents are wizards. Tell me what it was like . . . When you grew up."

He looked at her with curiosity, ready to unveil more of the real Irina.

Interacting with @Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

"Thanks Irina,", said Simon, smiling. "I really don't know what to say... I guess you have a point, though. It's not like I've spoken to her about it. I know, I should have, before making guesses . . . So thanks."
Irina returned his smile, a small sense of relief floodin through her to hear genuine gratitude rather than anger or even fake thanks! "There's no should about it Simon. You don't have to berrate yourself for not doing something! It happens all the time. For example, I know we should have told someone before we went into that murderous tree . . . but I'm glad we didn't."

At Simon's offer to borrow his jacket, she struggled not to roll her eyes. Her immedaite instinct was to decline . . . but then she shivered again. She really was quite cold. 'Yeah, maybe jumping into the lake at this time of night wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had.'
Grudgingly, Irina nodded and gave sigh. "Ok, fine. I mean. obviously thank you - that's very sweet. Are you sure you won't be cold?"

When opportunity to talk about her family arose, Irina jumped at it. Talking + family = awesome topic.
"Well, um, there's Amara and Lyndell my mum and dad, Idril, my older sister, and Kay, my younger brother, 18 months younger than me. Oh, and Artemis the Owl. We're all really close so growing up was pretty fun. We lived fairly remotely, far away from Dad's Uncle and cousin, who are snobbish, pureblood maniacs. But we saw a lot of Mum's brother, Uncle Garrow. He married a muggle and from her, we learnt a fair amount about the muggle world. In my primary scool I didn't have very many friends cause they were all douches, but I didn't really care that much. Me and Kay would go exploring every single day (cause we're surrounded by this huge forest) and dad would sometimes join us if he had time. Mum never usually comes cause her ankle was permanently injured when she was younger and it sometimes starts hurting, and Idril occasionally comes, but not often. Me and Kay are really close, we do everything together. I really miss him actually,"
Irina paused thinking about her brother. She did miss her family. A lot! It had been a while since she'd seen them. But it was fine, she would see them in the holidays.
"Uhm, what else . . . oh! Idril is a metamorphmagus, a trait that runs randomly through the Shevel bloodline."
Irina finally stopped talking, and grinned awkwardly. "Oops! Sorry, I always forget how long I can talk for. I don't really now what else you want to know! Do you have any specific questions?"

"... For example, I know we should have told someone before we went to that murderous tree... but I'm glad we didn't."

Simon smiled (she probably did not notice). He was pretty sure that it took a certain level of danger to get that kind of emotional reward that he had felt when they finally escaped. By accomplishing that together, all by themselves, and coming out of it alive, was truly a unique feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had no regrets either.

With his jacket on her shoulders, Irina began telling him about her family. Learning that she had in fact a brother made him even more curious. How was Irina as a big sister? How would it be when her little brother started Hogwarts? As he listened to all the details and stories, he pictured her family in his head. Soon the pictures came to life and he caught himself smiling again. They seemed to be a very close family indeed. It was almost as if the images warmed him up from the inside out. They had now entered one of the courtyards and were soon about to enter the castle.

". . . Oops! Sorry, I always forget how long I can talk for."

"No, it was interesting!"

"I don't really now what else you want to know! Do you have any specific questions?"

"Hmm... What is your sister like, and your brother, as compared to you? Are you alike or are you all very different from each other?" asked Simon before he slowed in and looked at the wooden gate in front of them. "By the way, we should be careful now. We still have time before curfew, but we don't want to draw unnecessary attention to us. We should probably keep an eye out around the corners for the last bit before we departure."

Interacting with @Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

"Hmm... What is your sister like, and your brother, as compared to you? Are you alike or are you all very different from each other?"
"Well, we all have huge similarities - me and Idril both have a very basic sense of humour, and we often have random, crazy moments where we just act all hyper! It's pretty fun," Irina giggled, glad Simon had asked this question. She had never thought about it before but it was nice to think about her siblings this way. What made them close and what made them unique.
Idril is way smarter though, and far more cool. She's also really musical and if I'm completely honest . . . well, she's kinda my idol. Then there's Kay and we are insanely similar. As I said earlier, we do basically everything together. He's far less reckless so normally I have to convince him to do some of the more dangerous stuff. Oh, and he's also a lot sweeter than I am. Whilst I'm better at reading people's emotions, he's probably the nicer and more concerned one. I can't wait for him to come to Hogwarts next year." At this thought, a smile, impossible to stop, spread across her face. Adventures at home . . . and at school too! What could be more perfect! 'Although,' she realised happily, 'I'm already having that . . . adventures with my friends.'

They neared the gate and immeditely, try-not-to-be-too-clumsy mode was on. She peered around the wooden front-door - the candles were still lit, illuminating the Great Hall in a yellowsih glow. She checked and saw that there was no one nearby.
Motioning silently to Simon, she edged through the door, trying to keep her footsteps quiet as they made their way causally (but quickly) across the tiled floor.

"... Oh, and he's also a lot sweeter than I am. Whilst I'm better at reading people's emotions, he's probably the nicer and more concerned one..."

Well, that explains it then, he thought. She was good at reading people.

Simon was happy for Irina. A bit jealous, but mostly happy to hear how close she was to her siblings. That was what a sibling relationship should be, he thought. Listening to her gave him some motivation to speak with his sister and be honest about how he felt. To try and mend whatever had happened between them. But that would have to wait until their next meeting. Now he had more important things to focus on, like getting back before curfew.

As they entered the castle, he realized that many students had returned to their common rooms already. The hallways were pretty much empty. They had to stop a few times to let groups of students pass. One lonely Hufflepuff boy almost noticed them. He seemed to be talking to himself about rugby before they saw that he held a white rat in his hands. When the passage was free, Simon dared to speak again:

“Your wound is looking better since you washed yourself by the way. But you should probably come up with an explanation for how you got it.” He could imagine the questions that were going to be asked by their classmates tomorrow morning.

They went up the Grand Staircase and entered one of the corridors, moving passed many armor statues and lit torches between the Gothic doorways before the corridor split – one way leading to the Gryffindor Tower and the other eventually leading to the Ravenclaw Tower.

“Okay, here’s where our roads go apart”, said Simon and looked at Irina. “I just wanted to say… thank you. For everything. Both this –“ (He chuckled) “– crazy adventure… But also for listening, and being so understanding. So, thanks. Okay. So. . . I’ll see you in class again tomorrow.”

He turned around in the direction of the Ravenclaw Tower. Soon he would lay in his bed and he was pretty sure that he was going to sleep like a baby as soon as he rested his head against the pillow. But he already felt like he was going to miss the company of Irina and he was already looking forward to the spending more time with her.

Then Simon smiled and turned around.

“Hey, Princess…”, he said. “You might wanna take a proper bath before you go to bed. Your hair still looks like a mess.” He gave her a cheeky smile. “Good night.”

Interacting with @Irina Shevel