Ghostly Freeze Prodigal

𝓕 I N N E G A Nx𝓒 O N N O R
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Ghostly Freeze, Date Unknownxxxx ◣PRODIGAL◥

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Academic endeavors had always proved hard for young Finnegan, except for one subject. Professor @Orion Lécuyer had encouraged his attempts to learn spells from the third-year syllabus, though perhaps he had not intended for the 2nd-year student to be skulking about the castle to break into the DADA classroom at this late hour. One evening, after the sun had dipped behind the mountains and cast the castle in a silvery glow, Finnegan made his way over to the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom to practice the Full Body-Bind Curse. It wasn't that much of a curse really, and the only reason for his secrecy was that he didn't wish to make a fool of himself in front of anyone else. What if he made a mistake and the spell backfired? He'd have to hear about it from his peers for weeks on end to be sure. With his tousled brown hair and a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes, Finnegan approached the classroom door and readied his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered and the door answered with a satisfying click. The room was silent, the shadows of the practice dummies lengthened across the cold stone floor. After he'd checked that no one else was lurking in the shadows, he took a deep breath and closed the door behind him. Out came a beat-up bit of parchment, his own writing was almost indecipherable to him in the dark. Not that he needed the notes, he had read and re-read the spell in the library textbook countless times. The incantation was "Petrificus Totalus", and he remembered the wand movement: a sickle on it's side, starting with the blade, drawing out the handle before coming down with a determined flick. Positioning a stuffed dummy in front of him, Finnegan took a deep breath and exclaimed, “Petrificus Totalus!” mimicking the wand movement from memory. Nothing. The dummy remained as lifeless and immovable as ever. Remembering was Professor Lécuyer had taught about intent, he took a few steps back, squared his shoulders, and tried again. "Petrificus Total-" A cool breeze filled the room. Finnegan lowered his wand-arm immediately and spun around. Had someone entered? Had he left a window open? The culprit came floating up through the floor, wobbly head first then followed by the rest of Sir Nicholas. "Ah, young Finnegan," the ghost began, his voice echoing eerily, "shouldn't you be in your dormitory?" "I...uh," Finnegan stammered, looking down at his feet and then back up at the house ghost. "I was just practicing a spell." Sir Nicholas floated closer, eyes narrowing slightly. "The Full Body-Bind Curse, was it? Trying to get a jumpstart on the older students, are we?" Finnegan blushed something fierce. "Professor Lécuyer believed I could handle a few third-year spells." Nearly Headless Nick chuckled softly. "Ah, Lécuyer. Always pushing his students to be their best, an admirable trait to be certain. Was he wrong to think you were up to it?" It took Finnegan a while to process what Sir Nicholas was saying. He wasn't being told on, not yet anyway. After he had cleared his throat he raised his wand-arm again and pointed at the stuffed dummy. Petrificus Totalus...Petrificus Totalus... he repeated over and over in his mind, pushing all other thoughts away. "Petrificus Totalus!" A low whizz sounded like a heavy arrow cutting through the air. The spell struck the dummy, causing it to go rigid instantly, its once floppy limbs now unnaturally straight by its side. Sir Nicholas let out an excited noise, the sound echoing oddly in the otherwise empty room. "There you have it! Well done, well done!" A beaming smile spread across Finnegan's face. "Thank you, Sir Nicholas. You won't be... will you?" The ghost smirked, his nearly severed head tilting to the side in amusement before waving dismissively. "We all have our secrets, as long as you return to your dormitory safely and don’t make it a habit, we shall speak no more of this." Nodding gratefully, Finnegan began gathering his things. Before leaving, he turned to Sir Nicholas, wishing to express his gratitude but unable to find the right words somehow. The ghost simply winked. "Off you go, young Gryffindor. Stay safe, and keep practicing."

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Stamina 10 ✶ Evasion 10 ✶ Strength 2 ✶ Wisdom 3 ✶ Arcane Power 5 ✶ Accuracy 10