Closed An Old Spark PV R. Cazares

Illowy grinned at Ruby's quip about not wanting to be the one at the receiving end of the snake's wand. Certainly, she'd made the impression over the years that many people would probably agree, but it was nice when someone actually said it. Illowy prided herself on being strong and handy with a wand; and in those moments when she doubted herself, she couldn't deny it was nice to hear someone else commend her ability. Though, if she were honest, she'd probably be more nervous to be at the end of Ruby's wand in just about any situation. Illowy was keenly aware that Ruby likely would rather cast first and ask questions later if it came right down to it, and Ruby never came to mess around when it came to her casts. It was admirable, she felt from her own point of view, how acutely decisive the other was when it came down to the wire. Even after everything, Illowy still found there were moments when she hesitated, and that could get her in trouble one day.

The lifting of the curse had affected Illowy stronger than she had initially thought it would. One might've thought as the first to experience the cure, she would've been flaunting about the achievement left right, and center. If anything, she had receded further into herself. There was a level of survivor's guilt in a way, and the fear of giving false hope if the cure failed. There had also come the task of becoming reacquainted with her own reflection, finding it difficult to recognize herself. At some point in the two years of hiding behind hair and layers of clothing, she realized she'd become a relatively pretty young lady, and it was strange to allow herself to be seen again without the shame of the curse marring her skin and smothering her self-confidence. Only in the last year or so had she begun to become comfortable with herself again. However, just because the physical evidence was rid of, the damage of that night and years of suffering weren't so easily burned away by a burst of blue flames. To this day Illowy still felt the need to "stand guard" at night, and keep vigilant of anything out of place that could be a threat to her House.

For this night though, she'd allow herself to forget about the dangers and the messes and the struggles. She wanted to focus on what they had now, the good things they'd done for themselves; the both of them.

When Ruby agreed to see what she'd done, commenting about how impressive it must be if it took her so long, the other grinned sheepishly, "In my defense, there were a lot of restrictions to follow and I also did not anticipate how difficult it was going to be in practice." she defended with a chuckle before stepping back, trying to maintain some level of a calm manner before making her shift. It wasn’t as dramatic as her usual run and shift, but that was alright.

In the place where the young witch had been standing, now sat a massive dog with coarse, pitch-black fur, speckled with white tufts in several key places and her chilly blue eyes warmed into amber. The true extent of her massive size was more evident when she stood and trotted her way back to Ruby; her tail giving away how excited she was as the scrawny, muscly appendage swung back and forth. Perhaps she was feeling a bit cheeky as she pushed herself up on her hind legs to rest her paws on her friend's shoulders. Who's taller now? She joked to herself before shifting back into her normal form.

Illowy had found quite a bit of pride in having managed to become an animagus, even if she'd yet to figure out how useful it might be in the future; but for now, it was for her own selfish indulgence, to be her favorite form of escapism and something that was just her's. Though she doubted, knowing Ruby, that she was the only one to have managed something impressive. Ruby never stopped impressing her, "What about you? You must tell me what you've been doing."

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

"In my defense, there were a lot of restrictions to follow and I also did not anticipate how difficult it was going to be in practice," Illowy said, furthering Ruby’s curiosity and interest. She was trying to think through possibilities for what this mysterious accomplishment could be, but she was too slow. She watched as Illowy stepped back and shifted into a dog before her. “Whoa,” she managed breathlessly. She had read about animagi and had heard about them, but never had she seen a transformation like this with her own eyes—a shift into something so fundamentally different by just willing it. It was incredible. Out of anyone she knew, of course Illowy would be the one to accomplish something like this. Ruby had heard that the process was extremely difficult, and yet Illowy had managed it. At only sixteen—no, wait, at fifteen, since she had said she managed it last summer—she could defy the laws of biology and change everything about her body through only discipline and magical will. Truthfully, there was no other word besides awe to describe the deep respect and wonder that Ruby felt in response to this.

And that was just a reaction to the concept, not actually acknowledging what Illowy’s animagus form was. She had become an enormous dog, one that looked as tough as she knew Illowy to be as well as fairly beautiful—especially with those amber eyes. She smiled as she saw the tail wagging, which turned into laughter and a grin so wide she felt her mouth couldn’t stretch any farther as Illowy put her paws up on Ruby’s shoulders. In an instant, Illowy was back in her human form, leaving Ruby’s eyes full of admiration. “Now that was incredible.” You’re incredible. “I see now why it took you so long. Merlin, to accomplish that at only fifteen? That’s some serious talent you have there,” she praised. She didn’t really have the words to describe quite how impressive this was—even just the idea that this was possible was incredible alone, and then for Illowy to have achieved this while so young on top of that? It was going to take quite some time for Ruby to get over this, buzzing with secondhand excitement.

"What about you? You must tell me what you've been doing." Ruby shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s nothing in comparison to that,” she said, and she wasn’t just being humble. While she had accomplished things that were impressive in her own right, she didn’t think anything she could do could measure up to the work and brilliance it took to become an animagus. “I’m not sure whether you remember, but in third year I was starting to work on casting spells so that I could hit two targets at once. I’ve pretty much mastered that, and I’ve worked hard enough on my spells that they never backfire on me, even if they miss the target.” She paused. “Last year, I also taught myself how to cast nonverbally. It’s obviously harder, so more advanced spells don’t always succeed, but any of the ones we learned in lower years I can consistently perform without speaking.”

She considered her next move—she wanted to demonstrate with something that would be visible, but anything too bright or showy could alert prefects or professors to their presence. “Watch this.” She held the idea of producing bubbles in her mind, imagining the result and the incantation. Moving her wand in the wiggly pattern of the required wand movement, she cast precisely and, with a sweep of her arm, a stream of bubbles were created in line with her movement, slowly drifting away. But she wasn’t done—she wanted to prove that it wasn’t just a one-time thing, and maybe she wanted to show off a little. There was so much she could do, but she had to stay simple for right now to avoid being detected. She looked down at the ground, summoning a stick into her hand and, shortly after, levitating another stick in addition to the one she had been holding (Spell Spread), floating them over in front of Illowy, all without a word. “I find that, while it takes more concentration and can be finicky, I can cast faster this way. The spell isn’t limited by how fast I can say the incantation.” She looked at Illowy, curious about her thoughts.

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Illowy gave a modest shrug, grateful for the dim moonlight that might've hidden the pink flush in her face as Ruby commended her achievement. She couldn't be sure why she never said anything before about completing the animagus, not only to Ruby, but to anyone. By all reasoning it should've been a well earned bragging right, yet it didn't feel like it held that kind of weight to her, "All I did was follow some instructions..." for months and months and months, she added to herself, coyly taking her arms back that still rested on Ruby's shoulders from the shift, starting to fiddle a bit with the ends of her sleeves. It would have been a fair assessment that Illowy didn't often give herself the credit she was due.

Then again, Ruby wasn't much different. The teen nodded along as Ruby reminded her of the goals she'd set for herself when they were still in Third Year, recalling how ambitious Ruby had always been; especially where her casting had been involved. Illowy's pale eyes grew wide as the other explained how she'd gone above and beyond since then, at least in Illowy's good opinion. She took a step back to give the girl some room as she raised her wand and began a demonstration of her ability.

As someone who took casting well quite seriously, the look of genuine awe on the Irishwoman's face was telling as her housemate conjured bubbles with such ease before offering a further discrete flourish of her talent by wordlessly summoning a nearby stick as well as levitating another simultaneously. Nonverbal magic was something Illowy had been spending a bit of time trying to master, and Ruby was preforming that and more with such proficiency; even despite Ruby's comment with it was done with quite a bit more concentration then typical.

"A proper force t'be reckoned with now, ye are." she grinned, a thin hand lifting as though she might touch one of the bubbles. Though she had enough bad blood with the magical balls of soap and air to know better then to touch it. There was some tinge of regret in her chest, realizing how she'd missed all these achievements, missed seeing the other grow into such an impressive and formidable young witch. How had she allowed herself to fall so far away? How much else had she missed, she wondered, and for what reason? Because of cowardice? Because of the big, bad feelings that the very notion of trying to express or act on seemed to shake her to her fountations? What lame excuses. What all else should she have been there for and supported? Too much, she imagined. After all, a lot can happen in three years; and in those three years she had allowed herself to be so wrapped up in her own misfortunes and problems that she'd missed out on the good moments happening in between.

Mentally, she made a promise not to let anymore of those moments pass if she had some say in her presence there. Illowy wanted to be present. The people she cared about deserved that level of attention. Ruby deserved that attention.

Her gaze shifted back again to Ruby, "Ye ought to be so proud of yerself. Look at ye! Ye don't give yerself enough credit for how impressive it is to master such a level of control." she spoke earnestly, "You are a rare one, Ruby."

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Illowy shrugged in response to Ruby’s praise, brushing it off with "All I did was follow some instructions..." Ruby scoffed, shaking her head. “All you did was follow some instructions?” She raised her eyebrows skeptically, smiling. “Come on, I know it’s much more than that. From what I know about it, it’s an extremely arduous and lengthy process. I know you’re excellent, but I also know it took a lot more dedication than just ‘following some instructions’. You should be proud of the work you put in, you don’t need to dismiss it like that.” Her tone was playful and light, the smile still firmly present on her face. Illowy absolutely had bragging rights! How could she ever downplay being an animagus when it was such an incredible demonstration of skill and perseverance?

And then it was Ruby’s turn to show off a bit after explaining what she had been working on. As she cast, she glanced at Illowy’s face—not for long, she had to have good concentration for nonverbal magic—and the look of awe she saw there was something she hoped she could hold in her mind forever. She was so used to causing fear or pain when she demonstrated the extent of her abilities that she had forgotten it could be used to create enjoyment and admiration. Not everything had to be twisted to be used in combat or to generally cause harm. Sometimes it was enough to just be. There was beauty in magic, in the things she could do. Why was it so hard for her to see that aside from when it was reflected on Illowy’s face? Wasn’t this a reaction worth causing, too?

"A proper force t'be reckoned with now, ye are." Ruby smiled. It felt good to be recognized for what she had accomplished, especially by one she held in such high regard. She wished things could always be like this—bubbles by moonlight, genuine joy, and sharing in one another’s accomplishments, just friends reconnecting and enjoying the company. It was so simple, so much easier than she ever could have expected, and all she could do was savor the moment as much as possible because she didn’t know when she would next experience something as peaceful and fulfilling. A light blush colored her cheeks as Illowy gave more praise, saying that she should be proud of herself. Maybe she should—she was, but there was always something greater to strive for, some new area of magic to conquer.

"Ye don't give yerself enough credit for how impressive it is to master such a level of control." Control. That was really what everything she did was about, wasn’t it? Of course there was the incentive of curiosity—she wanted to learn everything she could, and her ambitious nature made her want to be the best. But there was a deeper, more insecure motivator at play as well, and that was the need to have control. Control over herself, control over a situation, control that could bring her closer to being untouchable. Ruby swallowed. There was nothing wrong with wanting control. Control was vital, and it was hers, and she would only continue to grow it. And Illowy recognized it—she praised her for it. Maybe it was worth being proud of. “Thank you.” "You are a rare one, Ruby." She smiled at Illowy’s words, feeling warmth inside, and replied softly, “So are you, Illowy.”

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

Her flush deepend as Ruby stressed how much Illowy must've put into herself to manage such a complex spell. Perhaps one day, Illowy would learn to take a bit more pride in such achievements like a proper Slytherin; but for now, she would simply be contented with knowing at least one person was impressed with her work. Especially if that person was Ruby. That was plenty enough for her if it was Ruby.

The girl could feel a flutter in her chest. How long had it been since she'd gotten to bask in an interaction that felt so easy and natural? Too long, she imagined, since she couldn't place the last time. Part of her wished she could kick her own ass for letting herself be so scared of letting herself have something so easy, just once. Allow herself to have one place in her life where she wasn't having to fight some sort of battle. Where there wasn't any masks or strategy to the interaction, no 'do or die', no pressure to either be the best or be nothing. Where she didn't have to be a Magnard, she could just be Illowy. No preening or propriety. Not that she exactly had a great track record when it came to Ruby to maintain any semblance of those things. Ruby had that effect on her, like firewhisky to the senses; warmth, excitement, and a level of intoxication that left you only able to focus on the here and now.

She must be some level of a masochist to have denied herself who knew how many moments like this simply because she was a coward. Even if it wasn't the same as it might've been in the past, the most important part still remained constant; Ruby. It'd always just been easier with Ruby because she always just understood. And Illowy wasn't about to be stupid enough to just let her fade away from her life again. This was a friendship she had to take care to maintain. Ruby was good for her. A Lumos in the darkness, chasing away shadows and leading her back to safety.

Illowy's lips pressed in a tight smile, trying vainly to maintain her composure, as her eyes flicked up to Ruby's, offering out her hands, palms up, for the other witch's, "I just..." the girl struggled to articulate herself. She was nothing short of a complex amalgamation of thoughts and words and actions of how to express her relief and happiness that refused to for any level of coherency, "I'm just so, happy. Inexpressibly happy."