Midnight Wanderings Finished

«•»

“NO, WE CAN GO BACK DOWN,” Sapphire said, unfolding her legs and standing up. She tucked her wand behind her ear, then dusted herself off.

She took a deep breath, then extended her hand to her Gryffindor companion. Then she took one last look at the forest and descended back into the tower. Once inside, she leaned against the wall. The cool stone was comforting.

Sapphire sighed into the dark, empty hallway. “Do we need light?” she asked herself.

She responded to her own voice. “Probably. Lumos.” The space was lit up, waking a portrait of a young woman.

“Oi!” she exclaimed. “Put out that damn light!”

“Sorry,” Sapphire muttered, putting out the cool glow. “Damn painting…” she muttered.

“Damn Slytherin,” the painting shot back.

“Shut up.” She slid down the wall, cross legged again. She desperately hoped the painting wouldn’t bother her again. Aaanndd, I lost track of my situation again, she thought, turning towards Katrina.

“So did you want to talk about anything?” she asked. She was surprised that she hadn’t shown an ounce of her normal social anxiety. It was good, but it made her wonder – why? She was talking with a girl that she didn’t know all that well, but…? She didn’t know.

«•»

Katrina struggled to keep herself under control and was immensely glad that Sapphire was okay going down. The Gryffindor took a steadying breath and accepted the Slytherin’s hand up. On unsteady feet, Katrina looked out to where the unicorn had been. It was gone.

She followed just behind Sapphire, keeping a hand on the wall as well. The ridges and bumps were cool and kept her focus on the present. She was here. Katrina went through and did the focus thing where she pays attention to every little detail around, it was grounding and kept herself from succumbing to another attack.

Katrina found herself struggling to keep from laughing (more of a depressed sigh-wheeze). At the painting and the girl’s banter. The painting glared darkly from the wall and Sapphire turned to Katrina.

“I— well, I” Katrina stopped, biting her lip in disgust at her resurfacing stutter, “At the Blos- event a while back, I— got attacked by a mosp, basically a huge angry bug. Now I— I struggle with, well, I think it’s PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder. I get flashbacks and nightmares and hallucinations and they trigger my panic attacks,” The Gryffindor shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. The ringing in her left ear never stopped, it didn’t bother her too much, except when it was quiet.

In a quieter voice she added, “and a bunch of other stuff happened, but I don’t allow myself to think about it, my panic attacks get a whole lot worse than that one,” Katrina looked at the stone ground, eyes trading the edges of each rock.

«•»

SAPPHIRE GAVE HER USUAL HUM OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. “I don’t believe that I was at this event,” she said. She was half-paying attention to Katrina, half-having s stare-down with the painting. “Blink,” she hissed, then realized that it must sound a bit weird.

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t back down from the challenge. “I have mild PTSD,” she said, still not looking away. “I watched my parents die, and that’s kind of… stuck with me,” she murmured.

She hardened her gaze at the painting, though her eyes were starting to burn. “I could do this forever,” painting girl snarled.

Sapphire scowled for a second, then directed her words towards Katrina. “Going off of our earlier questionnaire, how easily do you get irritated?” she asked through gritted teeth. Neither the painting nor the girl were backing down.

Sapphire’s eye twitched. Painting girl smirked. “You can’t beat me~” she taunted.

“Shut it, blondie,” she snapped. The girl was indeed blonde, and she was now scowling.

Then the worst possible thing happened. No, not a prefect coming, though that was surely the second worse. Sapphire blinked.

“Yes!” the girl exclaimed, triumphant, while Sapphire cursed. She’d lost two a 10-year-old figment of someone’s imagination. “Oh, and I’m Clove, by the way.”

«•»

@Sapphire Riddle

Katrina turned to see why Sapphire seemed so distracted. She was having a stare down with the girl in the painting. A small part of the second year wished that Sapphire would care more than she seemed to. Sapphire mentioned that she also had mild PTSD and Katrina gave a half-hearted nod. She was used to being ignored, Katrina was just about to stand up and leave. She was tired of crying and breaking down and being a mess.

“Going off of our earlier questionnaire, how easily do you get irritated?”

She sighed, now not wanting to leave the girl, emotions still wreaked from her panic attack. “Well, not much I guess. Except when I feel weak,“ Her memory drifted to her anger explosion in the bathroom a few weeks back.

Katrina realized in that moment that she needed counseling even more than Sapphire. She was volatile and emotional. She had panic attacks and teenage angst explosions. She had no mentor or adult figure left in her life. Katrina looked down at her hands defeat lacing her face.

Sapphire lost the challenge to the painting and Katrina felt more like a third wheel than before as the painting introduced herself. The second year fingered the locket, fingers rubbing on the smooth surface. The lioness opened it and saw the faces of her parents and brother smiling up at her misty eyes.

«•»

SAPPHIRE SIGHED. The stare down was definitely rude. She turned to the other girl. “Sorry,” she muttered dejectedly. “I should really learn what’s more important in a situation.” She silently cursed her Slytherin ambition, but she also knew that she shouldn’t put the blame on that. She was able to sense emotions, for Hades’ sake!

Her gaze dropped to her feet. “Oh, that was rude, wasn’t it? Sorry, my sister said that I should never leave anyone out,” Clover said, turning towards Katrina.

Sapphire chewed at her lip as she tried to figure out how to word her eglaf*. “Hey, have you ever played sticks?” she blurted.

If not (but not outright stated that she didn’t want to play):
Sapphire nodded in thought.

“Well, it’s a game played with your hands–more specifically your fingers. You start with your pointer fingers out–” she demonstrated it “–and you tap your opponent’s hand. Depending on how many fingers are on the hand that tapped gets added to the hand that got tapped. 5 fingers out on your hand means you’re out, but by clapping your hands together, you can transfer some fingers over— jeez, that sounds weird. It’s more like ‘points,’” she tried to explain. Her words sounded a bit more panicked because a) she wasn’t sure if Katrina would even want to play, and b) she wasn’t sure if her explanation was good enough.

“Er… do you want to play?”

If yes to knowing game:
“Well,” she said, “do you want to play?”

If game is not wanted to be played (regardless of previous occurrences):
Sapphire exhaled softly. “Ok. So, um,” she sat against the wall, “What’s your favourite sport or similar thing?” she asked.

“I don’t really pay much attention to sports, but I do like rock-climbing,” she murmured.

A/N: Only one of these outcomes would bring me over the 200 word limit. Also, eglaf is a word to use when you don’t know which one you actually want.

«•»

@Sapphire Riddle

Sapphire talked to the painting and Katrina bit her lip. She wanted to leave, but also didn't want to be outright rude. The second-year realized that the Slytherin was no longer talking to the painting, she was talking to her. Katrina lifted her head, wishing she had paid attention. Her emotions had gotten the better of her again. Biting her lip harder now, Katrina listened as the painting apologized as well.

"No it's okay Sapphire. You too, uh-- Clover?" On the inside, Katrina was saying the complete opposite, but she was able to keep her expression true to her words. Facing the painting Katrina gave a half-hearted smile, "Oh, and, I'm Katrina Walker,"

"I, uh... no-- I don't know how to play sticks," Katrina didn't really want to play a game, she wanted to-- well, she wasn't sure what she wanted. However, she did actually know how to play, she was simply stalling for time.

“Well, it’s a game played with your hands–more specifically your fingers. You start with your pointer fingers out–” she did that “–and you tap your opponent’s hand. Depending on how many fingers are on the hand that tapped gets added to the hand that got tapped. 5 fingers out on your hand means you’re out, but by clapping your hands together, you can transfer some fingers over— jeez, that sounds weird. It’s more like ‘points,’” Katrina nodded, already knowing how to play the game but giving the expression of one figuring it out.

"Um, sure... we can play, but we could still continue the questionnaire thing too," the idea was less of a suggestion and more of a want, but Katrina also was struggling keeping everything inside and not explode into tears or anger.

“What’s your favourite sport or similar thing?”

Katrina stuck her pointer fingers out and responded, "Well, I don't do much sporty stuff, but I do climb trees and run-- well, I used to run... I was thinking of starting it up again this summer," Katrina sort of trailed off and tapped Sapphire's right hand, transferring her one over to her one.

“I don’t really pay much attention to sports, but I do like rock-climbing,” she said softly. Katrina nodded agreeing with the not paying attention to sports.

"What is your wand made of?" She had officially run out of ideas. Suddenly, Katrina smiled, sparked with an idea.

"Hey Clover, want to join us? I'm sure we could make three way work,"

"Oh, and my wand is made of chestnut and dragon heartstring,"

“MY WAND’S MADE OUT OF CHERRY AND DRAGON HEARTSTRING,” she replied as she transferred the one point onto her hand. She let her wrists hand limply as she thought of her question while Clover responded.

“I’m pretty sure paintings can’t tap other people’s hands, if you mean the game,” the girl said, a little jokingly. “I’ll just watch. But if you mean the questions… well, I died before I got a wand anyway.”

Sapphire finally got a question. “What do you like to do in your free time?” she asked.

She tapped Katrina’s left hand with her own, adding one over, before giving her own opinion on her question. “I find myself in the library or rehearsal room a lot,” she said quietly. She started humming her favourite song, the noise filling the space and allowing her to relax, if only slightly.

“What song is that?” Clover asked inquisitively.

“The Broken Hearts Club. It’s calming to me,” she replied. She wished she had a piano, so she could play out the notes with her fingers as well. But she wasn’t complaining. We’re very obscure. Playing hand games in a dark corridor with a painting of a dead girl.

A/N: Clover is a character I’m using in a book, so I’m using this in part to kind of develop her personality.

Kateri had simply stepped behind two of the book cases across the room for what had only seemed to be a moment or two... but a noise drew her from the concentration of her research that evening since no students had come calling during her office hours yet.

"Curious.." The young woman tilted her head to one side but a quick glance around the room left her with no answer to what the noise was. A familiar sound of a spell being cast certainly caught the professor's attention. Were students up here? She grimaced at the thought of having to possibly hand out detention, it was not her favorite thing to have to do. But the tower had its own danger and Kateri knew just how tempting a space like this could be for students. She had in fact done her own adventuring and sneaking about while attention Illvermorny, but also had her fair share of detention and learning the hard way there were rules for a reason. Voices could be heard now, causing Kateri to look towards the edge of the room where two figures stood. She was about to walk over and scold them for being up here so late simply to hang around when she heard part of the conversation. "-but I’m not suicidal…" Kat's breath caught in her throat and she held back behind the shelving, her hands tucking themselves into her coat pockets. The other girl seemed to be comforting her, which was a good thing, however it was clear to her now that they were not there for office hours nor for a good laugh.

Keeping her distance, she listened in for awhile glad that the two seemed to be sharing a moment that Kateri frankly did not want to interrupt. It sounded as if both of the girl's needed this time together. Still. Looking to the wire metal clock on her desk just across from her, it was getting late. As much as her heart ached for these two girls and hearing the words they had to speak, Kateri would have to intervene. Plus, the conversation had been shifting back to a much darker topic that did nothing but spark more worry for the young woman.

Quietly moving from her spot by the bookcases, Kateri strode over to the two girls, a soft smile crossing her lips. "I'm sorry to say but it is quite late and I believe you both should have been in bed by now." Looking from one to the other, the girl who seemed more troubled than the red haired girl giving her another wave on concern, Kateri continued gently, "If you are finding yourself troubled at night you are more than welcome to come here while I have hours and either speak with me or simply spend a little time here. Though I do ask you respect the curfew that is put in place here at Hogwarts." Perhaps a good night sleep after some exchanged words would be what the pair needed. "I trust you both can find your way back to your dorms?" A slender brow rose on the woman's face as she crossed her arms loosely over her chest.

IC: Be aware that the upper observation deck is locked, as the Professors before me have done. You would also have to sneak by my desk to get to the enchanted lock on the stairs that lead above. If I catch you again you may not get off with a warning.

OOC: As for the topics, please keep in mind the ruling for on-site mention of suicide and peek at the classroom description if you need to! I don't mind using this space for some good ole' fashion character development but please stick to the rules. As for the room it still has an invisible wall/barrier around the room and locked room/upper level as Alaric had prior. If this is taking place in the main tower / classroom area you would most certainly be caught as Kat is in the tower a good chunk of the evening/morning during office hours and it is locked when she is not in the room.

THE PROFESSOR’S APPEARANCE NEARLY MADE HER JUMP OUT OF HER SKIN, but she managed to control herself fairly quickly. She muttered something about not being conscious of the people in the space, though it was entirely directed at herself. She should’ve known that they wouldn’t be completely alone.

“Yeah, sorry,” she said quietly. “I should no better than this…” her thoughts flashed loosely back into her memories, but she shook it off.

She stood up, tense. “It was nice meeting you, Katrina,” she said, giving a little wave. She bid goodbye to Clover, then headed away. She had a long way to walk. She was in what was probably the highest tower in school, and her common room was all the way in the dungeons.

Before she started the long trek down, she sighed and ran a pale hand through her hair. Her fingers snagged on some tangles, which she grumbled a bit about before starting down.

Moonlight streamed in through the windows, slightly illuminating her path. The stairs looked sort of eerie, giving the effects of being haunted. Which she supposed it was, but it was still a bit creepy. She bit down hard on her lip and kept moving until she reached the common room. She sighed. I hate dorms. She would just sleep in the common room.

Katrina hesitated a moment, she almost heard something. She contemplated her next move and dropped her hands when Sapphire nearly jumped out of her skin. Katrina wearily turned her head and saw the Astronomy Professor with a knowing smile on her face. Immediately Katrina had to fight the tears of fright that were rising up. Detention? Surely she was going to get detention.

When instead the professor gave her a warning, she swallowed, thankful she hadn’t burst into tears. The Gryffindor nodded as Sapphire bid her goodbye. Katrina waited a moment for the Slytherin to leave before taking a few tentative steps toward the Professor.

Her mood was already vulnerable, her emotions felt raw and put out where she never really put them out. This feeling of plain openness must have been what spurred Katrina to say, “First, I’m really sorry. But also, I’m not sure how much you heard or anything, but I might actually take you up on the offer. I’ve— well me and Sapphire and basically everyone else here have been through a lot and I don’t know. It’s a lot to handle but I think at least I have gotten to the point where other students aren’t really helping. I also don’t know if I should tell you or who to talk to or anything but, I don’t know.” The Gryffindor noticed herself repeating phrases, a stutter almost leaking into her voice.

If the Professor were to say anything Katrina would nod and promptly dart out the door. If not, then Katrina would simply leave, not sure if saying anything was the right thing to do or not.

It had been a long night and she had finally been able to let her guard completely down. It was a shock that she hadn’t gotten in trouble, but Katrina was immensely glad she didn’t. As she wound back down the stairs, careful to see that her footsteps were silent, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had helped Sapphire. She sure hoped so.

Katrina swing open the painting and padded into the common room, Boomerang stood up from the spot on the window seat where she often sat and trotted over to her. He gave her a look as to ask where she’d been, but his only answer was a gentle pet on his fuzzy orange head. She slid under the covers. What a wild night.