The Snowman in the Courtyard PV Alyssea Brown Finished

"Where I was born or my ethnicity? I was born in Australia but I'm English through and through. Parents were born in England but they were in Australia by the time they had me. What about you?"

"That's really cool! I was born and raised here in Scotland. But my mom is Norwegian. She's a Muggle. We've been to Norway a couple of times, but I've never got to experience what it would be like to live some place else. That must be so enriching, I'd imagine."

For a moment, they were both silently observing the levitating snowman.

"Wonder what spell that is", said Alyssea with a low voice.

"Yeah. We sure did not have those floating ones back in Edinburgh. I grew up in a Muggle village, you see. By the way, I hope this isn't too personal, but can I ask you what you..."

Simon stopped mid-sentence because the levitating snowman suddenly stopped levitating. It landed in the snow in front of them, stood still for a couple of seconds, before it rolled away towards the big tree with the thick trunk, almost looking like that robot from the Star Wars movies.

"Oookay?", he said, glancing at Alyssea. "Where did it go?"

Something told him that the snowman was in fact not part of the Christmas decoration but rather the work of some older students. Was this some kind of prank? Simon looked around, but he and Alyssea appeared to be alone. That was when he got hit by a snow ball coming from the other side of the large tree trunk.

interacting with @Simon Tilia

"I was born in Australia but I'm English through and through. Parents were born in England but they were in Australia by the time they had me. What about you?"

"I was born and raised here in Scotland. But my mom is Norwegian. She's a Muggle. We've been to Norway a couple of times, but I've never got to experience what it would be like to live some place else."

You're missing out, Alyssea thinks. While she does loathe the instability her life had, she enjoyed seeing the world that people only saw the romanticised version of. The immersive experience she had experiencing culture first-hand definitely helped her develop her interest in history.

"That must be so enriching, I'd imagine."

She smiled. Yes, she thought, it really was, even if she did end up with a wandering spirit by the end of it.

She looked at the snowman. "Wonder what spell that is," she mumbled to herself.

"Yeah," Simon said, surprising Alyssea. "We sure did not have those floating ones back in Edinburgh."

As he spoke, Alyssea studied the snowman. Just as Simon began to ask her something, he stopped.

The snowman dropped to the ground and just... stood there. She blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't just her eyes losing focus and blurring the scene. But the snowman still stood there, buried into the layers of snow. Did the spell wear off? Alyssea looked around, but the courtyard was empty. Just then, the snowman shuffled away to one of the trees.

She looked to Simon, who seemed just as confused. "Where did it go?"

And before she could respond, a white object flew across her field of vision and hit Simon square in the face. A snowball? Even though she hadn't been hit, she still ducked and brought her arms to her head.

"You okay?!" Alyssea asked as she continued to survey the area. She heard giggles come from behind the tree and fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Just as she straightened her legs and stood up, another snowball came flying and hit her right on the forehead, knocking her down to the snow.

Now she really rolled her eyes. She rolled onto her side and grabbed a handful of snow, hissing when the cold stung her hands. Gloves would've been an amazing investment, but obviously, she didn't think that far. Good one, Alyssea, she thought. She clenched her teeth and rolled the snow into a ball that wouldn't crumble in her hands.

As she pulled herself up, she saw them behind the tree and threw the ball. But of course, they managed to avoid it by retreating back into the cover of the tree trunk.

Alyssea sighed heavily. "Man, Simon, we really need some better defenses," she laughed.

"You okay?!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine! We should probably..."

Another snow ball came flying and hit Alyssea right in the face. She fell backwards into the snow with her arms out, landing like a fallen angel.

"Are you okay?", said Simon and grabbed her hand to help her back up on her feet.

As Alyssea prepared and launched a snow ball towards their unknown attackers, Simon took the opportunity to prepare a snow ball himself. They quickly hid behind the tree trunk, thus, Alyssea had managed to suppress them. That gave Simon time to give them a surprise as they appeared from behind the tree trunk again, but they managed to dodge his snow ball as well.

"Man, Simon, we really need some better defenses", said Alyssea, laughing.

"Yeah. Of course this was a trap", said Simon. "These goddamn holiday pranks... Watch out!"

Almost invisible because of the snow covered tree in the background, a whole line of snow balls came flying towards them, clearly with the help of magic. There was no time to think; Simon pushed Alyssea out of the way, making them both fall over and land in the snow. Luckily for Alyssea, she landed on her back, only getting show in her hair, while Simon landed face down and buried his hands in the cold snow. The snow quickly melted against his warms hands.

"Sorry", he said. "I had to. This was certainly not the tour around the castle we had expected."

He chuckled before looking over his shoulder only to notice how the bottom part of the snowman appeared from behind the tree trunk and came rolling in their direction, growing larger and larger with each feet.

"Come on! No reason for us to linger here!", he said and got up while helping Alyssea as well. "We don't wanna get in trouble this close to Christmas."

They quickly moved towards the wooden door that lead back inside the castle. The growing ball picked up its speed, chasing their heels, while the snow balls were hailing down around them like missiles on a battlefield.

"Get them!", yelled one of the students behind them and Simon realized that they were coming after them. They better hurry and find a place to hide once inside the castle. He had heard of the snow ball fights in the corridors and entrances which was of course strictly prohibited.

interacting with @Simon Tilia

Just as she stood back up on her feet after throwing the ball, she fell right back into the snow. She looked to her side as Simon faceplanted into the snow. While she wanted to laugh, she knew just how much that hurt with the sudden temperatures.

Simon looked back up and scrambled to his feet. "Come on! No reason for us to linger here!"

"Get them!"

Alyssea jumped up and ran. She didn't dare look behind her or else she'd be giving the opponent an advantage as she slowed down. Blood roared in her ears. She followed Simon towards the castle and prayed that the snowballs wouldn't hit her as they rained down on them.

Was it illegal to use spells outside of class? She considered it desperately to at least get them some time to run away. The only spell she could use safely that wouldn't potentially cause her expulsion would be the Dancing Feet spell. But then again, she didn't know the counter spell to take it off once their opponents accepted defeat. So, she kept her hands away from her wand.

"Simon, hurry!" Alyssea huffed. She never stopped running. "We can probably lose them on the Grand Staircase!"

She turned down the hallway and headed for the moving staircases. Surely they can escape if they get on a staircase and it moves just in time before the other kids make it. Either that or they risk getting into trouble with the professors or being attacked by an onslaught of snowballs underneath a staircase.

As the tower came in sight, she sprinted and jumped onto the nearest staircase, climbing desperately up the steps in the hopes that it would move soon. She let herself look back and she sighed with relief. The distance between her and Simon and the other kids was (hopefully) enough for them to escape.

She heaved a breath. "Almost in the clear. Come on!"

"Simon, hurry!" said Alyssea as they ran through the hallway. "We can probably lose them on the Grand Staircase!"

"Good idea!"

As they jumped onto the stair, waiting for it to move, they took a moment to breath. As soon as it started to move, Simon thought they were going to be safe.

"Almost in the clear. Come on!"

They went up to the top, but that was when they heard voices behind them. "What's the matter? You scared, Tilia!?" Their persecutors had their wands out, clearly looking for trouble. The boys jumped onboard the stair as well, but it was still a good couple of feet left until the stair reached the other side. This situation required some quick thinking. Simon looked over the railing and got a mad idea.

"Come on!", he said, before jumping over the railing to the moving stair below them. It was a bit of a long drop, but he managed to land on his feet and grab the railing for balance. He looked up and held his arms out for Alyssea as she jumped down too.

The unexpected escape route seemed to have baffled the persecutors enough for he and Alyssea to gain time. They hurried down the stair and ran into the corridor. Simon looked over his shoulder only to see the boys do the exact same thing as they did, dropping down on the stair, one by one. When Simon and Alyssea came around a corner he noticed what appeared to be a broom closet on the left.

He pulled Alyssea's arm to urge her to stop. "Hey! In here!" He opened the door and let Alyssea inside first, before closing the door behind them. The space was very small and dark. There was a bucket and a stool on the floor and some other things (what it was he could not see) but the broom closet almost gave the impression of being abandoned. After a short while they could hear the persecutors passing the door before their steps faded. Simon's heart was pounding and he was out of breath.

"I don't know about you, but however much I love history, this was certainly more exciting than the library. I find myself in these situations all the time", he said with a raised eyebrow. "Part time book worm, part time mischief-maker. That's me in a nutshell."

He tried to open the door, but it would not budge. He tried again but no result this time either. It did not give in at all. It appeared as if the door was jammed.

interacting with @Simon Tilia

Everything flew by in a blink and soon, sitting in this musty broom closet, the adrenaline wore off and the pain came. She hissed when she moved her body, the aches shooting up from her left ankle.

At that moment, jumping down the stairs seemed the only plausible thing. Now, she realised they could've been extremely hurt. What if they missed the steps slightly? What if they landed just an angle off?

She shook her head. It happened and they're okay. The ground shock her ankle suffered would eventually go away once she rested.

"I don't know about you," Simon huffed. Alyssea almost forgot it wasn't just her in the closet. Besides, how would she have ended up here, anyway?

"However much I love history, this was certainly more exciting than the library. I find myself in these situations all the time. Part time book worm, part time mischief-maker."

Alyssea grinned. At least one of them still had some humour after that crazy experience. She wanted to faint right then and there, but she's not the type to faint.

She heard the closet door rumble and waited for the light to flood in. Instead, the door didn't budge, no matter how many times Simon pushed.

Oh, god. Did she really have to experience this? Being stuck with a boy in a closet was not something she put on her First Year bingo card. She buried her face in her hands and mentally screamed. Her brother would kill her. Actually, probably not. Maybe not her, but maybe Simon if he heard it with zero context.

She sat and waited as her vision adjusted to the darkness until she could finally see the door she was working with. She could also see Simon after the whole ordeal. No injuries, luckily. God knows what trouble they'd get into if it was worse. She turned back to the door.

The door had its own lock on the inside. Aberto wouldn't work since it was just an opening doors charm. It would be funny if she said 'Open Sesame', but she did remember that such a spell existed and was quite... attention-catching.

She clicked her free hand continuously. What spell was it?

Alyssea turned to Simon. "What spell unlocks locks? We learnt it in Charms, didn't we?"

Simon gave the door a couple of more attempts, but no luck this time either. The whole situation was a little awkward. They hardly knew each other but here they were, locked in a broom closet together. If it had been one of his friends, it would not have been such a big deal, but since it was Alyssea there was a certain tension. The truth was that he felt a tad guilty for pulling her into all of this. She could still have been sitting in the window and reading if he had not dragged her along, only to end up with her in the middle of a snow ball fight.

"What spell unlocks locks? We learnt it in Charms, didn't we?", asked Alyssea.

"You're right. Let's try that. Give me a little light, will ya? Thanks." He pulled out his wand from his pocket and pointed to the lock. "Alohomora!"

Simon lowered his wand slowly and pushed the door with his fingertips. It was still closed. He decided to try again, harder (maybe the spell was just unsuccessful):

"Alohomora!"

Nothing happened this time either.

"Aberto!"

Still no luck. Simon let out a sigh and put his wand back in his pocket. He was disappointed that he did not manage to get them out with what he had learned from class, even though he knew why it probably did not work. "This is the limitation of magic, I guess. The door is neither locked or closed, it's just... stuck. A Blasting Curse would do, but we don't master those spells yet, and I think it would be quite dangerous at this close range. But if all else fails, I guess there is the Muggle way... I don't know. What do you think? Are you okay, by the way?"

interacting with @Simon Tilia

"Aberto!"

As expected, the door didn't budge. Alyssea sighed. "I already considered that spell, but it doesn't work for locked doors."

Simon sighed as he put his wand back in his pocket. "This is the limitation of magic, I guess. The door is neither locked or closed, it's just... stuck. A Blasting Curse would do, but we don't master those spells yet, and I think it would be quite dangerous at this close range."

Alyssea nodded. "I don't even think we've learned that in DADA."

"I guess there is the Muggle way... I don't know. What do you think?" Simon asked.

Alyssea shrugged. "You don't happen to have anything thin enough to just," she gestured with her hands together in a slicing downwards motion, "like, slide through the door gap? I've only got my wand and my book."

Her book! Goodness, with all that running, she forgot she even had it. Her heart raced as she felt her robes for it. She couldn't feel it bulging in her pocket and cursed under breath. "Not my book. I must've lost it in the chaos."

She shook her head. If it was damaged, she could probably Reparo it. If not, then well... She doesn't want to think about it.

"Are you okay, by the way?"

"Yep," she said. A bit too quickly, she might add. "Nothing severe, I think."

She ignored the ache in her ankle. It was slightly worse now, but she ignored it. Ground shock, she reasoned. Then again, she's always had weak ankles ever since she started musical theatre. She blames it on the slippery concrete stages that, even with rosin, never had any grip and were prone to falling accidents.

She turned to Simon. "What about you? No injuries?"

Alyssea looked at the door, turned back to Simon, and sighed. "Sorry if this is uncomfortable. This was probably not what you expected."

"You don't happen to have anything thin enough to just..." Alyssea gestured with her hands to show what she meant "... like, slide through the door gap? I've only got my wand and my book."

Simon shook his head. "Nope. Nothing. A hair grip would have been convenient, but as it happens, I don't use those." He was not sure that his attempt to lighten up the mood would be appreciated, but at least he tried to bring some light-heartedness into this mess.

Then Alyssea seemed to remember something and felt her robes. "Not my book. I must've lost it in the chaos."

Simon instantly felt sorry for her. "I'm sorry... I can help you look for it as we get out of here..."

At least Alyssea was not injured. Damaged books was easier to fix than damaged arms or legs. He himself had some pain in his thumb from the landing on the stair, but nothing major. Maybe he would find a bruise or two on his body when he would change into his pajamas later, but that would not be the first time. In fact, one boy in Ravenclaw had come up with the nick name 'The Bruised Eagle' to mock him for his constant bruises from his part-time-mischief-maker adventures. Simon really hoped that nick name would not stick.

"I'm alright", he said, discretely stroking his hurt hand.

"Sorry if this is uncomfortable."

"No, not at all." He lied of course, but as long as Alyssea was not uncomfortable in his presence, he had no reason to feel uncomfortable in hers either.

"This was probably not what you expected."

"No, certainly not." He chuckled. "Been through worse, though... Being locked in a closet with Alyssea Brown does seem rather pleasant as compared to what could have happened if they had caught us. Did you hear about that boy that was hung upside down in the corridor with his pants around his ankles? Or that second year who was transfigured into a hazel dormouse in the school grounds, before being snatched by an owl? I heard he was saved by one of the Seekers who happened to see it all from the Quidditch pitch... Well, you get my point."

His smile slowly faded. "I'm sorry for all this. To be honest, I don't know why I asked if you wanted to come with me. Not that I didn't want to..." (He hoped that his slight blush would not show in the dim light) "I guess I was just curious about you. We've been classmates for so long, but I realized I hardly know anything about you, despite the fact that we both have a particular proclivity for history. Trust me, it's a pure joy listening to you each time you answer Professor Browne's questions. It's like you make history cool again."

interacting with @Simon Tilia

She felt relieved that she wasn't the only one feeling the adrenaline wear off and the regret(?) flood in. Although, she reasoned with herself. Had they gone to the library as intended, it might've been a less exciting time than... this. Then again, they would be in less of a place of trouble if they hadn't interacted with the snowman.

The snowman. It just had to be the most unassuming thing that caught her off guard.

She listened as Simon listed all of the misfortunes other students had experienced. When he put it that way, they were in a better place than others. It might spark some unnecessary rumours later, but for now, they were away from any immediate trouble from a snowball fight.

Alyssea chuckled. "I've heard of a few of those, but not the one about being transfigured into a dormouse! I hope the guy's okay now."

Simon sighed. "I'm sorry for all this. To be honest, I don't know why I asked if you wanted to come with me. Not that I didn't want to..."

She took a good look at him for the first time since they were locked in the closet. When they first met not more than ten minutes ago, his hair was perfectly slicked to the side. Now, his side part was nowhere to be seen, probably from the chaos. She offered him a smile. If there was any emotion she wouldn't allow herself to feel right now, it would be anger, because it wouldn't be right, anyway. It's not like he planned for it to end up like this, and neither did she.

"I guess I was just curious about you. We've been classmates for so long, but I realized I hardly know anything about you, despite the fact that we both have a particular proclivity for history."

Alyssea chuckled. Isn't that where all human relationships start? One person is curious about another and it leads to a cascade reaction of future interactions. And how long has it been since the year started? Four months now? In her head, four months felt so long, like the holidays were ages away. She didn't realise time flew by just like that.

"No shame in that. I've been curious about you for a while, I'll admit." She shrugged. "Not everyone enjoys history to the same extent, especially if it's a compulsory subject."

"Besides," she said, "Life's pretty boring without some chaos, right? Not much would happen in the library, let's be honest. Gotta 'spice up life' as they say."

She mentally laughed at herself. When was she ever a comedian? Sure, a few comedy plays helped developed her understanding of comedy and why something would be considered funny, but she sucked at making her own jokes.