metamorphmaga | hunting unicorns

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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

marrinikari

"Merlin help us, I can't begin to think what's a law these days," McGonagall snorts. "After all the, the, turnover at the Ministry, I'm sure all their records are a right mess." She shakes herself and eyes them. "Was there anything else?"

From:

chanuphis

"Is it all right to tell other students if they ask?"

From:

marrinikari

"Hm. If they won't talk to reporters about it, I suppose."

From:

pleating

"...How do we tell if they will?"

From:

marrinikari

"If you don't know them well enough to know the answer, perhaps you should rethink telling them?" McGonagall suggests mildly.

From:

chanuphis

"Well, I don't think Alli would tell reporters," Miranda says. "Everybody else can just wait."

From:

parental_guidance

Given permission to tell her parents, there's nothing else Emma feels like asking the Headmistress. Hogwarts seems to have things under control; and anyway, it's not like she has any desire to talk to reporters regardless. She mumbles a thank you to the Headmistress and summarily flees the office. She knows she's not in trouble, per se, but in the office, it still feels like it.

From:

chanuphis

Miranda lingers to inquire if McGonagall would perhaps like to see her Patronus and maybe cast spells at it to see why it's special.

From:

marrinikari

Once Emma and Karen have left, the Headmistress sizes up Miranda. "Miss Swan. I believe a more thorough examination of your Patronus should be left to an expert; the Ministry has promised an experienced Auror 'at their first availability.'" She's a bit skeptical of this, as it happens, but it can wait. If the Ministry drags their heels, she'll worry about it then. "However, there remains the concern of your... less than standard wand. Professor Flitwick tells me you have seen unexpected results with it before?"

Edited Date: 2014-08-30 01:42 am (UTC)

From:

chanuphis

"It's mine," says Miranda. "I'll show you whatever you want to see but it's my wand, not a 'concern'."

From:

marrinikari

"Given recent events, I should like to verify that it is not dangerous," McGonagall says mildly, if sternly. "You have proven yourself capable of feats with that wand that should be well beyond a first year. If the wand is in some way unstable, or powered by Dark Magic... these things are best discovered early." She softens slightly. "If it proves to simply be an unusual wand, that is a very different matter, of course."

From:

chanuphis

"If you are even considering that you might take my wand away I would like my mum to be involved in the conversation." Since listening to Miranda herself is probably out of the question. "Casting a Patronus at all is supposed to be too advanced for a first year and I can do it with my normal wand too, it just gets me a smaller one."

From:

marrinikari

"I have no intention of taking your wand away unless I can prove it is a danger to yourself or others. Is that acceptable?"

From:

chanuphis

"Prove it to who?"

From:

marrinikari

McGonagall adjusts her glasses with a sigh. "If we disagree you are welcome to involve your mother. But as you have said, it's your wand, Miss Swan. You will need to be present and involved at least sometimes. I will not be... be..." she is somewhat at a loss for words here, "absconding with your wand to perform Nameless Tests without your input."

From:

chanuphis

"Okay. Well, what Professor Flitwick saw was a feather going up really fast and sticking into the ceiling when I tried the Levitation Charm on it. When I try other things it does what I'm trying to do, just really - thoroughly. My Patronus in particular is about three times as tall when I cast it with the chimaera wand - the pawnshop person said it had chimaera hair in - than how tall it is when I cast with my other one."

From:

marrinikari

"Well then. I shall ask Professor Reed to set up a time with you for tests." She reaches for one of the papers littering her desk. "Is that all?"

From:

chanuphis

"Unless you want to see the Patronus or something, yes, Professor."

From:

marrinikari

"I will not object if you'd like to show me, Swan, but it can certainly wait for the Auror."

From:

chanuphis

If Professor McGonagall isn't in a hurry Miranda isn't either. She shrugs and gets up.

From:

parental_guidance

Once Emma was far enough from the Headmistress' office that she didn't get the You Must Be In Trouble vibe, she parked herself in an empty corner of the hallway to await Miranda. She doesn't want to just- leave her friend behind, after all. She's slightly concerned when Miranda takes a while to appear, but it hasn't been that long. Probably everything's okay. Right?

She looks over at Karen, who's waiting with her. "Um. She's not in trouble or anything, right...? Wasn't she behind us?"

From:

pleating

"Maybe the Professor wants to see the spell," suggests Karen.

From:

parental_guidance

"I guess..." This is reasonable enough to keep Emma in place, though she does twitch occasionally. Miranda's not in trouble, right, what if she got in trouble for saving Emma, that would not be okay. "She should be along soon then..."