hunting unicorns

[metamorphmaga]

As spring approaches and the snow begins to melt, Jenny and Emma take to spending their free afternoons outside, practicing flying or doing homework on the lawn or just generally enjoying the sunshine. Their spot of choice is not, as such things go, all that far from the forest, and for Jenny it becomes something of a game: see if you can spot a unicorn. She never does, but she never gives up hope. Someday.

After about a month of this, Emma decides to leave the lawn early- she's finished her letter to her parents, and wants to drop it at the Owlery- so Jenny is left to her own devices. Bored, she examines the forest. It's only supposed to be unsafe at night, right? It won't hurt to go wander around a little in search of unicorns. She won't go very far.

And if she's lucky- unicorns.

---

Half an hour later, Jenny is deeply regretting her idea. She is completely lost, and the forest has gotten much darker and gloomier. She would go back, if she had any idea where to go. She's taken to making little piles of rocks, to attempt to mark her way; unfortunately, so far all this has told her is that she is definitely going in a circle.

The next time she re-encounters a pile, she branches out to the left instead. She's pretty sure she came from that direction, so maybe-




Cold.

Jenny is friends with Miranda. Miranda has been compulsively researching Dementors all year; she knows what it means, this cold, the screaming terror. But it's so much worse than anything ever, ever said it would be. She's frozen to the spot, unable to move, brain screaming in terror.

And then the Dementor appears. Slowly but visibly, it approaches her. Is it bigger than the books said they should be? She thinks it is. It's already looming and it's not even close.

Frantically, crazy with fear, Jenny does the only thing she can think of- she shifts away her mouth.

The Dementor stops, seeming to hover in place. Jenny stays frozen in place. The Dementor doesn't seem to be planning to Kiss her... but it's not moving, either, and she's still stuck.

Oh, God. Now what?

Comments

[pleating]

"If it's really chimaera hair it might be super hard to make more."

[chanuphis]

"And when have I been a snob about it?"

[parental_guidance]

"Not you! Remember Ollivander?" She puts on her best imitation of an Ollivander voice (which is admittedly not at all close, but is at least markedly different than her normal voice.) "How dare you want a second wand mine are perfect in all ways."

[chanuphis]

"Oh! Yeah. He might start using chimaera hair if it'd let people kill Dementors. Maybe it'll do other stuff, even."

[parental_guidance]

"To hear Alli tell it, it's great for sticking feathers to ceilings."

[chanuphis]

"Well, it did do that once," says Miranda. "Oh man, I want to tell her, but McGonagall wants it quiet..."

[parental_guidance]

"Ugh, I didn't even think about that. How long could it take McGonagall to figure things out, do you think?"

[chanuphis]

"She'll probably want to... look at the cloak? Maybe check it out with magic and make sure it's not going to... spawn from it again, or something, I hope it doesn't, that would be bad."

[parental_guidance]

"There aren't that many spells she could cast, I don't think," Emma says doubtfully. "So it probably won't take all that long then? As long as nothing scary comes up."

Like, for example, the Dementor is not actually dead. And is now mad at them. There is a thought that should go away immediately or it will turn into some spectacular nightmares.

[chanuphis]

"Yeah, I guess. Do you want to come up to our room and watch me try the Patronus again and watch Karen try and maybe also try or do you just want to go to bed?"

[parental_guidance]

Emma checks the time quickly. Definitely past time to be back in Hufflepuff. "I should go back," she says uneasily. She doesn't like being late for curfew. She doesn't like breaking rules at all. "I can try tomorrow if you want more testers, and watch you guys again if you want to wait that long- or want to do it again- but for now, um. Bed. Definitely bed. Sorry?"

[chanuphis]

"You don't have to be sorry. Sleep well."

[parental_guidance]

"Thanks, you too."

The next morning, Emma arrive in the dining hall somewhat impatient and upset. She tried to stop by the infirmary first thing, but Madam Pomfrey was most insistent that Jenny needed her rest, so, it can wait. She heads for the Ravenclaw table in search of Miranda and Karen instead.

[pleating]

Here are them!

[parental_guidance]

"Hey. No news on Jenny, Pomfrey wouldn't let me in," she sighs. "Any luck with the testing?"

[chanuphis]

"I can do a person Patronus with either wand but it's only huge with the chimaera wand, and Karen can't do a Patronus at all," says Miranda.

[parental_guidance]

"Huh. I wonder what it being huge means then?" She grins. "Other than making sure we can't forget it's there. It's practically a giant beacon!"

[pleating]

"The regular size one is pretty shiny, too," says Karen. "I'm going to keep trying doing it, but if Miranda's wand is special I don't think I'm gonna be able to see if it's special for me too until I can do one with my regular wand."

[parental_guidance]

"I haven't managed one either but I've only tried a couple of times. I can try again, I guess." She swallows. "I don't know if this whole thing will- help, or hurt, though."

[chanuphis]

"If what whole thing will help or hurt what?"

[parental_guidance]

"The, the, meeting an actual real life Dementor. Cause I mean- now I really want a Patronus, but wanting one because I'm scared isn't likely to help."

[chanuphis]

"I was scared when I cast mine," says Miranda encouragingly.

[parental_guidance]

That gets a tentative smile. "I'll try, I will."

[chanuphis]

"I had tried it before I saw the Dementor and I didn't get anything. I think it might have been important for me to see it. But I don't think that can be usual because plenty of people learn to cast them without having Dementors around, if you needed Dementors to learn to cast Patronuses it would be less common I think."

[parental_guidance]

Shudder shudder shudder. "I just bet not," she says fervently. "Besides, they all used to be at Azkaban anyway." This slightly wistfully. At least when they were at Azkaban, you knew where they were.