Closed Alone in the Snow SOLO

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__◇ IC Date: January 6th 2025

Speech: #1d5758 ◇ __

__◇ Thoughts: Italic	Mentions: N/A ◇__
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The snow had cast a white blanket over Hogwarts and its grounds over the winter vacations, had made the castle unrecognisable from the outside to those students who had spent Christmas with their families.

It was still snowing when Elisa came back to Hogwarts on the Sunday before the start of term. She had been more reluctant than usual to return to school, not because of the actual studies but instead because she would miss someone greatly. Her best friend, perhaps the only person at Hogwarts who truly understood her and who's friendship with her had only lasted a few, short months, had gone to Africa during the vacations to continue his studies in Uagadou. Swan and Elisa had promised to write, but the young girl knew only too well that she would be missing his presence, and that it was difficult to maintain a friendship without ever seeing each other.

Arriving in the early afternoon at Hogwarts, Elisa had put down her things in her dormitory and having seen the snow outside, she decided to go out into the grounds - she wanted fresh air and most importantly, something to take her mind off the departure of her friend.

Wrapping herself in thick layers of clothes and a Slytherin coloured scarf, she headed out, wandering aimlessly in the white land before her, wherever her feet would carry her.

After a while, the castle became only a distant shadow behind her, so thick was the snow. She sat down cross legged on the soft white blanket, not planning to go any further out. She could barely distinguish the trees of the Forbidden Forest, so covered in white that they almost blended in with the snow. She imagined all the magical creatures in there, the centaurs and giant spiders and unicorns - were they cold? were they happy? were they enjoying the snow? The corners of her lips slightly tilted upwards as she imagined a family of centaurs telling stories to each other by a warm fire.

Savouring the moment, she slowly closed her eyes, filling her lungs with the fresh air and letting the snow fall on her face and hair. It was cold indeed but as there was no wind, the snow was not harsh on her skin. It seemed like she could hear distant cries of joy and bursts of laughter. Maybe children were snow fighting? Probably.

Then, all of a sudden, she thought of Swan. In Africa, she doubted it ever snowed. The young Slytherin sighed. How dearly she wanted to spend this moment with her best friend! She was forced to accept the reality of the situation, now that Swan wasn't with her anymore, and she realised how hard separation actually was.

A tear slid down her cheek, first warm against her skin but cold a second later from the freezing temperature outside. With a trembling hand, she wiped off the tear.

Sitting in the snow, Elisa stared out at the white world before her, her watery eyes reflecting the scenery. How long she sat there, she didn't know - she had lost track of time in the blurs of snow. The cold was beginning to bite at her face, her hair was damp from the melted snow and her black robes were covered with a small layer of white - but Elisa didn't notice nor cared anymore.

It was almost sun down when Elisa got up slowly, almost tripping from the numbness of her legs. Her eyes were still damp, and her nose and cheeks were red from the cold. Shaking some snow off, she walked back to the castle, leaving behind her a trail of footsteps in the snow.

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