Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 11, 2007 16:08:53 GMT -5
Susan awoke suddenly, in the middle of the night. Her mind was muddled with visions of shadows and dark creatures, a nightmare, obviously. Although she was badly shaken up, this dream wasn't as original as most of her dreams, including teeth falling out, polka-dotted chickens, and spaghetti falling out of the sky. Faced with a stereotypical nightmare for a change, Susan was unable to find sleep once again.
After tossing and turning for many minutes, she looked to her glowing digital clock. 3:07 A.M. Remembering all the horror films she'd seen in her past, Susan recalled three in the morning to be the devil's hour. Not exactly the ideal time to awake from a nightmare, or to try to return to sleep either she decided. With out much more though, Susan slipped on her robe over her long-sleeved t-shirt and gray basketball shorts. She had goosebumps on her legs, but didn't want to dig through her trunk for any socks or proper shoes. She put on the first thing her she felt when she lightly lifted the top of her trunk. A pair of moccasins had somehow found the way to the top of her mountain of folded clothes.
Her wand in her hand, she waited till she was out side of the dormitory before lighting her wand. She fumbled through the dark, muttering "Lumos," as she closed the dormitory door behind her. The fire place in the common room had long since then, died out. Susan carefully avoided the large pieces of furniture and crawled out of the portrait hole, sorry to wake the Fat Lady, she quickly made down the hallway to the stair cases that would lead her to the elf kitchens.
She reached the elf kitchens, with out planning on meeting anyone. After all, it was three in the morning. Not many people were up and at 'em this late, or was it early? Susan took a seat at a little table in the kitchen and asked one of the elves on the night shift to make her a cup of Hot Chocolate. She needed something to warm her up on this cold night.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 11, 2007 22:28:54 GMT -5
He reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit just inside the corridor next to the stairwell in the entrance hall. He reached out his left index finger and began to tickle the pear. Hearing a faint giggle, the pear transfigured itself into a door handle. Alessandro quickly gave a look around him before opening it and quickly securing himself on the other side.
His eyes landed on a girl sitting at a small table with her robe over he sleep clothes. Interesting... He thought as he observed her wearing a long sleeved shirt and gray basketball shorts. He had a preconceived notion that girls wore frilly things and lots of white to sleep. He himself was donning his own robe over a graphic tee and flame pajama pants his mother had gotten from a mart that sells walls.
It was quite late to be out and about, around 3:24 am. He was wondering if the girl, he finally recognized to be Susan Matthews, was having difficulty sleeping as he had been, as per usual. "Hey Susan..." He said softly so as not to startle her this late.
He looked down at his feet as one of the elves apeared next to him, looking up at him with enormous eyes. "Oh...errm, cup of tea, please...and a side of cream and honey." He asked politely as the elf began to prepare his request.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
|
Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 12, 2007 6:40:12 GMT -5
Susan looked up to see that Alessandro had come down to the kitchens as well. She was surprised to see anyone awake at this hour. It wasn't natural for most people to wake up at three in the morning. Susan looked over Alessandro, it was his flaming pajama pants that caught and held her attention.
"Hey," Susan greeted as she scooted her chair over as to invite Alessandro to sit down. "Nice pants," she commented with a yawn. Before she had time to make her next statement, an elf was shoving a hot chocolate under her nose.
"Thanks," Susan nodded kindly to the elf. The elf, happy to be of service, bowed and went back to what ever it had been doing prior to Susan's arrival. "So what brings you here at this hour?" Susan asked lightly. She began to take a sip of her chocolaty elixir, but removed her mouth quickly when the heat burned her tongue. "Ouch!" she yelped, carefully setting down the mug.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 12, 2007 11:31:39 GMT -5
He smiled as she commented on his pajama pants. "Thanks, muggles wear them. How creative, right?" He asked her as he looked down at his pants, admiring the work of muggles.
He took a seat next to her and watched the little house elf set her mug of hot chocolate down in front of her. She thanked him politely before taking a sip and quickly setting the mug down. "Too hott?" He asked with a soft chuckle. He looked around to see where his elf was with his tea. "Uhmmm. Well you remember the fifth floor, right? After that...I just try to avoid sleeping....nightmares and all that. It's been hard lately. If I just lay up there, I tend to close my eyes and could fall asleep...and I don't want to see those things again..." He said with a shudder. "I've been trying my best to keep myself awake. Most of the time it works, but, sleep does take me if I am not careful." he said as he smiled and nodded to the elf as he set down a mug of tea in front of him, followed by a silver platter with a spoon, honey, and a little tin of cream.
He began to add in the honey while stirring gently, and then dumped in the cream. He lowered his head and brought up the mug, blowing on the contents as minute amounts of steam rose from the top. He took a sip and them smiled. "Mmmmm...perfection." He sighed still holding that smile.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
|
Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 14, 2007 19:23:18 GMT -5
"Oh," Susan mumbled, "I'm sorry." She did in fact ,remember the night on the fifth floor. The lot of it was still vivid in her mind. She didn't much feel like sharing what had been bothering her lately. It seemed almost trivial compared to the pain Alessandro must be enduring, Susan thought. Susan smiled weakly at Alessandro's claim that his tea was perfect. Susan didn't care much for tea. Where she came from lemonade was a favorite, and tea was for old folks.
Susan decided to have another go at her hot chocolate. This time, she mimicked Alessandro and blew on the top of the drink before taking a sip. Hot chocolaty goodness coursed down her throat and warmed her instantly. She sat her mug back on the table, keeping her hands wrapped around the cup for warmth.
"I had a nightmare too," Susan admitted. She wasn't trying to level herself with Alessandro, just trying to connect. She hadn't been having the best week and she guessed that it was all starting to accumulate in her dreams. "Or quite a few, actually," she delved deeper into the things one usually doesn't share. Susan took another quick sip of her hot chocolate, as not to be forced to say anything more. In her rush, she forgot to blow on her hot chocolate to cool it, and pointedly burned her tongue again. "Ouch!" she exclaimed unexpectedly in pain.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 14, 2007 21:19:15 GMT -5
He took another sip of his tea and then set down his cup. He pulled the hair away from his eyes that looked wide with interest. "You had a nightmare?" He whispered. He looked around the room and then leaned in closer. "What was it about?" He asked with heightened interest. He wondered if it was something similar to what evil visions the darkness had been showing to him at night.
He was planning to talk to Wysteria the next day about what had been going on since the corridor incident. He had asked her to meet him at the Three Broomsticks in hogsmeade. He was sure that they would be able to discuss things in secrecy. He realized he needed help, he couldn't just go on living without sleep, his concentration had been breaking frequently in class.
His eyes darted back to Susan as she was taking another sip of her hot chocolate. "Well?" He urged her.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 15, 2007 7:17:56 GMT -5
Setting her cup back on to the counter, Susan would have to talk. She looked back at Alessandro, searching his features. He seemed genuinely interested. She sat back a little, removing her hands from the warmth of her hot chocolate and placing them into the pockets of her robe. She started slowly, "Well, it wasn't the usual nightmare," she tried to explain. "You know, like showing up at school with no clothes, dreaming that your teeth have fallen out . . ."
Susan smiled weakly at the last example. She'd been having a lot of those dreams. Someone had told her that when you dream that your teeth fall out, it means that you're losing control. Susan disregarded this fact. She was pretty sure that she had things under control.
"This dream was," She searched for the right adjective, "different?" How could she explain the horrible shadows that had previously plagued her once-pleasant dreamland? "It was filled with shadows," Susan frowned trying to remember what exactly she had felt, "and unhappiness." She wasn't sure how Alessandro would respond. Dreams were very personal, or that's how Susan felt. She didn't often share them, and especially not her nightmares.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 15, 2007 11:16:18 GMT -5
He looked down as she began to relive her dream. He could tell she wasn't too keen on going into great detail, but she had mentioned that it was filled with shadows and unhappiness. He frowned as he took another sip of tea, and then set the cup down. He rubbed his face with both hands, pulling them back behind his ears, bringing along the strands of hair covering his ears.
"They're getting stronger..." He murmured as he stared at the table. He looked up at her. "The shadows in the forest, the dementors. They must be roaming closer to the castle at night, thats probably whats causing the unhappiness....maybe its causing my...." He stopped short as he spoke. No, he knew what was causing his nightmares. Evil that embodied itself as words on cursed pages bound in dark magic, The Maleficus Obscurum.
"Tell me Susan, have you mastered your patronus yet?" He said sharply as his eyes darted up to meet her own. "We should all be practicing, even if we can make a corporeal one, we should still be practicing how to maintain it for long periods of time....and probably practice doing other spells while it has been summoned. No doubt there will be a lot going on...." He ranted as he thought about his nightmares. Were they visions of the future to come? He didn't dare find out.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
|
Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 15, 2007 17:09:44 GMT -5
Susan wasn't as surprised as she thought she would be when Alessandro related her dream to the dementors currently residing in the forbidden forest. It made sense. It was strange to Susan to be thinking so clearly this early in the morning. Susan frowned when Alessandro mention patronuses. She hadn't actually.
"No," Susan said meekly, "but I know the theory behind it and the incantation. I've just never actually tried it." In her mind she began to make room in her mental schedule for practicing her patronus. Thinking about the spell, she wondered briefly on what it's shape might be, that was if she could manage a corporeal spell in the first place.
She listened to Alessandro talk. It seemed he was making plans for an inevitable war. A war that Susan realized she would have to take part in. She still had a lot of training to do, Susan thought with regret that she hadn't been practicing lately. After homework, she should be practicing the forms Dylan had taught her. And there was the fact that she still needed to get in touch with D'rorah again. There would be much more to learn. Susan felt behind, in comparison with the others.
She reached back for her hot chocolate, now not so hot, but easier to drink. She took a few large sips before setting down her cup again, and worrying a little about what Alessandro would say about her lack of experience with Patronuses.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 15, 2007 23:48:34 GMT -5
"No?!" Alessandro almost spilled his tea. "Are you mad?" He asked wildly. "Thats the one spell you should be efficient at for whats been going on 'round here! The patronus will drive away the shadows for a time being, other than that, I'm not sure what will hurt or kill them." He said gravely.
He looked around him, the room was definitely large enough for practice, there just were too many tables and shelves in the way. He stood up as he set down his tea.
"Stand up, Susan." He commanded as he brought out his wand and pointed it at the tables and shelves. "Mobilisupellex" He muttered. The tables and shelves lifted up off the ground, shaking a little bit as this was a bit advanced for Alessandro, to move multiple objects at once, and he navigated them backwards as best as he could before dropping them.
There now was a large space for Susan to stand in and practice her Patronus charm.
"I know its late...but I would really like for you get a feel for it, at least. I'd feel better leaving here knowing that you at least can produce light from your patronus, even if it doesn't take form." Alessandro said with her best interest at heart. His gray-green eyes were urging her.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 16, 2007 7:22:57 GMT -5
At Alessandro's reprimand, Susan winced, upset with herself for not taking time prior to at least attempt a patronus. Alessandro had quickly cleared the area of the tables and shelves. Susan nervously, pushed her chair to the wall and made her way to the middle of the, now clear room. She retrieved her wand from her pocket and took a long deep breath, stalling for time as she tried to think of the single happy thought that would make her patronus effective.
Susan focused her attention on her first visit to the lake here at Hogwarts. Although on that day, it had rained miserably, Susan could not think of a time she'd had more fun. Susan smiled, mentally prepared for the spell to come. She looked to Alessandro, his gray-green eyes stared back patiently.
Susan took another deep breath, focusing on that feeling she had that time at the lake. "Expecto Patronum!" she said confidently. Nothing happened.
Susan focused herself once more and said a little louder, "Expecto Patronum!" This time, her wand emitted a light wisp of smoke.
Still not satisfied, and more determined than ever, Susan attempted the spell again. She focused all of her being on that happiness she'd felt at the lake, gripped her wand tightly and without any regard for the house elves who were probably sleeping somewhere nearby, shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Upon speaking the spell, a bright light and more thicker, smoke appeared from her wand. The smoke traveled around the room before disappearing and the light lingered before slowly fading away. Susan was disappointed that no distinct shape had formed, but it was her first few attempts after all.
She looked to Alessandro, "How am I doing?" she asked nervously.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 16, 2007 10:31:17 GMT -5
Alessandro stood back and watched patiently as Susan gingeryly readied herself to practice the charm. He couldn't help but feel like he was being a bit bossy, but it was for the greater good of the Lightfighters. If he could help Susan produce her patronus, he would feel volumes better about her safety.
He raised his eyebrows eagerly as she attempted to cast the spell on her first try. His eyes travelled to the tip of her wand as he had really expected to see some sort of animal of light dancing out of the tip. When nothing happened he blinked a couple times, looking at her, silently urging her to get it right.
Come on, you can do this....Come on, Susan... He thought as he watched her do it a second time. This time his eyebrows jumped up as he watched a tiny puff of smoke accompanied by a flicker of light emit from her wandtip.
He was just about to say some positive words but before he could, Susan had attempted to cast the spell yet again. He gaped as he watched her wandtip spew light and smoke that swirled all the way around the room.
"YES!" he cried clapping. "Yes, Susan, that will do nicely. What ever memory you have, just keep clinging to that. The trick is to have a couple of happy memories actually, one to start with, and then the others as backup to keep feeding the spell. When I produce my patronus, it feels like that happy feeling is being sucked through my entire body and expelled out of my wand." He said as he went over to her and squeezed her shoulder a little bit.
"You know, it took me hours to get something like that..." He arched his eyebrow at her. "What kind of spell performance-enhancing drugs are you taking??" He narrowed his eyes at her jokingly.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 16, 2007 16:33:41 GMT -5
Susan smiled brightly at Alessandro's complement. She was almost giddy with the excitement of achieving at least something from the spell. She took Alessandro's advice and began forming more happy memories in her mind, that she would use the next time she tried. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't wait to try again. She was determined to reach a corporeal patronus, and the sooner, the better.
Susan laughed out loud at Alessandro's joke as to the method behind her brilliance with attempting new spells.
"No drugs," Susan said in mock seriousness, "I'm clean!" She played along, raising her hands in innocence. Then, more seriously she added, "I guess I just really wanted it." She remembered the ferocity in her voice as she had cried "Expecto Patronum " the third time.
She was almost dizzy with the anticipation of eventually knowing what her patronus form might be. Thinking about corporeal patronuses again, Susan asked spontaneously, "Do you know what your patronus is?" After she had said it, she realized it was a nosy question. She regretted asking so openly, but was still curious, so she didn't take it back either. Susan yawned quietly, covering her open mouth with her wand-free hand. The lateness/earliness of the night/morning, were getting to her.
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Post by Alessandro Darko on Oct 16, 2007 22:54:02 GMT -5
Alessandro laughed as Susan threw her hands up in the air claiming she had been "clean" off drugs. He liked hanging out with her, he felt like they were becoming good friends.
He raised his eyebrows as she had asked him whether he knew what his patronus was or not. He smiled as he thought about the question. Had she thought that he hadn't successfully cast a patronus yet? After all the instruction he was giving her. He let out a short laugh.
"Yes of course I know...would you like to see it?" He asked with a sly smile as he brandished his wand.
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Susan Matthews
Gryffindor
[red]5th Year Gryffindor[/red] Shadow Warrior of Earth
goddess, nymph, divine.
Posts: 505
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Post by Susan Matthews on Oct 17, 2007 16:25:37 GMT -5
"Please?" Susan asked, secretly excited. She ignored how Alessandro had misunderstood what she'd meant to say initially. But that wasn't his fault, Susan hated it when her words got all muddled. She hadn't meant to insult Alessandro at all. She knew for a fact that he was very advanced when it came to such spells. Susan smirked, Ravenclaws, she cursed silently.
She stepped back, giving Alessandro room for his patronus.
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