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Post by sam on Aug 2, 2010 23:34:37 GMT -5
Oh, Pwca, hurry. Hurry. You won't believe me if you miss it.
"I always believe you, Grey Lady. You've never steered me wrong before."
But this is different, love. This is something most peculiar and odd and I'm not entirely sure I'm not hallucinating. Nicholas thinks I'm batty and blames my crush on James, but I don't know, perhaps it's the flu.
"Can ghosts get flus?"
Oh, you'd be surprised.
"Can ghosts have crushes?"
I'm not going to comment, Pwca. Look there it is.
With a determined and rather thankful sigh, Sam Black approached a large and ominous door which, for the past 5 minutes, had been the subject of the Grey Lady's rantings. The Ravenclaw ghost had woken Sam at 2am and ushered the spellsmith through the darkened halls of Hogwarts' sixth floor. He was wearing his pyjama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt, carrying nothing but his wand and a severe case of bed head. This was not a look he hoped to be caught with but his desire to help the frantic Grey Lady overruled his modesty.
"It's behind the door?"
Yes, dear. You'll hear it.
"And you've seen it?"
I flew right through the frame and came back the moment our eyes met.
"Did you tell James?"
Oh, oh no. I can - I can't do that. I can't, Pwca. On account of extenuating circumstances beyond my control.
"You have a crush oh him."
These are difficult times.
[Boom. Boom]
THERE IT IS!
Sam arched his eyebrow and approached the door with great curiosity, his head coming to rest upon the solid wood. He concentrated for a great while on the sounds emanating from the other side; his expression changed from suspicion to incredulity.
"Are those hooves?"
YES! I told you! I told you it was a centaur.
"On the sixth floor of the school?"
We've had...we've had mice before this.
"Mice, yes, but centaurs are somewhat bigger. Like, the size of 1000 mice."
You don't believe me?
"I absolutely believe you, Ma'am, but I think...I think we need James. Centaurs can be somewhat territor-"
[WHACK!]
Sam's head bounced off the door as a large thud, akin to a hoof kicking the wood from the other side, forced the entrance to shudder. He scrambled from the floor grabbing the side of his temple and gave the door an indignant look.
"Territorial. Okay, here's the plan. We get my brother and a peace offering and find out why and how we're having guests in the duelling room. There's a charm on the Forbidden Forest, and centaurs are not...Grey Lady?"
Sam realized he was ruminating to himself and turned around to find his companion, whom he discovered was now less concerned about the centaur and more concerned about her dress. James Black seemed to have that affect on her.
How do I look, Pwca?
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Post by Elle Callahan on Aug 5, 2010 19:21:23 GMT -5
(hope you don't mind Elle popp'n in here)
Empty. Nothing but the portraits moved in the castle. It was strange yet soothing. Elle had never heard the castle so quiet before. It was as if the very air was different. Calmer. Elle couldn't help but wander around the lonely halls. It had been several years since she had roamed the corridors. She actually did miss it. When Elle received an owl from her old mentor she reluctantly accepted the invitation for tea and conversation. Tea eventually turned into a favor. It seemed the old nurse was reorganizing the Hospital wing and was in need of assistance, if she wasn't too busy of course.
As a healer in training there never was a truly quiet moment. If she was honest Elle should have been sleeping. Curiosity won, again. After spending hours cataloging potions, cleaning bandages and trading theories she was finally free when the blasted staircase moved! Elle rolled her eyes as she now face the fifth floor instead of the third. Instead of sitting on the step waiting for it to change she decided to explore a bit. She doubted anyone would mind.
Elle was on the fifth floor when she heard strange noises. Was someone in the castle with her? Well of course the professors would be, but why would they be making such racket? She knew better than exploring those strange sounds but what if a spell backfired? She was closer than Nurse. Elle quickly went to investigate, frowning when she realized it came from the Ravenclaw tower.
Voices...wait no a voice was talking but she couldn't really make anything out. Elle rounded a corner as a loud wack vibrated through the corridor. She winced as a large man tumbled to the ground thwacking his head on the hard ground. That would definitely leave a mark.
"Are you all right?" She asked softly as the man glanced around, talking again. Grey lady? The ghost that rarely showed herself?
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Post by sam on Aug 6, 2010 9:22:03 GMT -5
((YAY! Thanks, pumpkin. I'd love to write with you. Elle the Spell is a legend.))
Sam's head whipped back around to see the source of a new voice, noting that it sounded nothing like a disturbed centaur or a hormonal spectre. In fact, the voice was so gentle and genuinely touched with concern that Sam considered he was either caught in some strange dream or - if the whack to the head was a little more than he suspected - now being visited by an angel.
"Lumos." Sam's quiet voice was met with a subdued blue light at the end of his wand. He was startled by the pale face that suddenly appeared mere inches from his.
In another time, not too long ago, Sam's wand would have levelled itself and he would utter words that demanded an identification and a statement of purpose. Whether it was the lateness of the hour, the oddness of the evening, or the caring expression of the witch before him, Sam felt compelled to begin with a much simpler greeting.
"Hi."
Sam was decidedly stymied. Having been employed at Hogwarts for the past month, he knew almost everyone who called the school home. And while the stranger's petite face carried a degree of youth, he could see she was not a student. Definitely not a staffer. His usual mistrust in strangers seemed tied up at the moment, which was odd considering nothing was currently status quo.
"I...I don't suppose you are missing a Centaur?"
[WHACK!]
"That one, to be precise."
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Post by Elle Callahan on Aug 10, 2010 15:30:20 GMT -5
She had surprised him, and rightly so. It was rather late, the exact time eluded her, and she was a stranger. His tousled appearance clearly screamed bed time. It must have been later than she had thought. Time disappeared whenever Elle was working. She felt foolish for taking a midnight stroll around Hogwarts. Really, she should have just left as soon as she had finished.
Elle blinked as his wand entered the foray, bright light momentarily blinding her. For several seconds they both stared at each other. She had never seen him before. Obviously he was a new staff member. What did he teach? Nurse hadn't said anything about new teachers. There was something about him that caught her interest.
The centuar comment knocked her off her game and Elle frowned. Centuar? In the castle? A thundering whack startled Elle, causing her to jump back arms flailing. A brush of luck kept her from falling but her own wand went out. Quickly she relit it, keeping her light low.
"No, how'd it get in here?" She asked incredulously as she stared at the door and then back at him. Was he seriously about the centuar or was it an excuse? Was he doing something shady? He didn't seem like a criminal and hogwarts was the safest place to store things.
Then Elle realized that he might think she had put the creature in the castle to cause a diversion. "I'm a healer. Well in training and the nurse is an old friend and I was helping them stock up and reorganize for the school year. After we finished I couldn't help but look around. I went to school here a while ago and well i. ..was nostalgic. Sounds silly doesn't it?" She said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
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Post by sam on Aug 11, 2010 20:00:55 GMT -5
Sam rushed out a steady hand as Elle flew back at the sound of the centaur. He kept himself from making contact. She had quickly found her feet and while his heart wanted to protect the stranger from the abrupt surprise that was the antagonistic beast, his head inwardly wagered: "If I were a witch in a darkened hallway and I ran in to me...and a loud cacophony echoing from a nearby chamber...I certainly would not want to have my personal space invaded." Thank Merlin for Ravenclaw logic.
Sam's ears perked up at the witch's mention of being a healer-in-training. He suddenly found himself interested in something more than wayward centaurs.
"Well that's very good of you. I know the Nurse has been cursing her cupboards for the past month. That's one dragon's hide of a job and not for the faint of heart. I've seen a fetid heart of troll. Never again." Sam smiled for the first time since their encounter and exchanged his wand between hands so he could offer his right one in greeting.
"I'm Sam."
A guttural snort from the nearby doorway broke the silence.
"And that's Princess. We're both relatively new here. Me by a month and Princess by maybe, I don't know, 30 minutes. Are you...are you staying in the castle? You're not leaving the grounds this time of night?"
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Post by Elle Callahan on Aug 22, 2010 20:17:28 GMT -5
Shadows danced between them, flickering here, licking there. Typically Elle would have thought the dim, changing light annoying. It could give someone a seizure or hurt their eye sight. But tonight? She did not mind at all. The dim light added to the mysteriousness of the encounter, it quickened her pulse, and spurred her imagination.
His smile called out to her own, and she found herself responding. Again, she wondered why he was here, who he was and what he did at Hogwarts. He did not look like a teacher, nor smell like one. There was something rugged about him, very manly. Not many people caught Elle's attention that way. It was rare that she noticed that someone was a man. But he most definitely was.
"Heart has little to do with it. More like guts and hands. How did you see the heart of a troll?" She asked curious rather than disgusted. Her eyes flashed with curiosity. This stranger was weird, she should have been unsettled by someone who cut open trolls to examine their hearts but she wasn't. Oh she would be careful but she was immensely curious.
For a second she blinked at his offered hand. She rarely shook hands. It was a terribly easy way of spreading germs. Not that she was afraid of germs she just didn't like spreading illness that she would later have to treat.
"El-le" She said going for her nickname instead of her pretentious first name. Several of her teachers at St. Mungo's said she needed a grown up name, that Elle made her sound and look childish. Bad enough she looked young but to go by a children's name made it even worse. Here though, it felt wrong to go by Eloise. She wasn't at work, nor a full doctor yet. Ignoring the germs, she quickly shook his hand.
"Princess?" She said in disbelief, her eye brows disappearing underneath her curls. "Is that his or her real name?" She asked glancing at the doorway. She had never heard of a centuar being called such a mundane name. It was a human name for pets. Centuars were their own people, despite having an animal second half. Did he not know that most centuars knew things that humans could barely comprehend?
"I had planned on leaving..." She said, thinking that it wasn't any of his business. Despite being the size of your average first year she was capable of handling herself. Besides her primary concern was getting the centuar out of the castle and back to the forest.
"Did you even ask the centuar what it's name was?" She asked, slightly miffed. Elle rushed forward, planning on whooshing past the taller man to speak with the centuar. It was obviously distressed.
"He or She might be ill and that is why they are here, trapped perhaps." She said concern evident in her voice.
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Post by sam on Aug 23, 2010 8:48:29 GMT -5
"Whoa. Hey." Sam raised his hands in surrender, his face becoming more serious in the failing light. "Now to be fair, I've been here less than 2 minutes and was stirred none to gently by a ghost to deal with - to investigate - our friend. Before you think me completely heartless, I have sent for help. Locks and doors, I can handle. This area...well, my brother is the expert. Actually, he's a genius. Besides," Sam turned for the door and whispered embarrassedly under his breath, "I'm allergic to centaurs."
Sam placed his hand on the door and closed his eyes, his mind searching the far reaches of his memory as one would search for a book within a library. Sixth floor. Seventh door. Across from the large tapestry depicting a celtic cross.
The spellsmith drew forth his wand and silently pulled the hilt apart. At first glance his wand appeared to be a solid piece of ebony, but looking closely, it was actually comprised of many individual parts. Sam held the remaining shaft between his teeth as he turned alpha-numeric and symboled dials inlaid within the hilt. After several long seconds the word +KELLS+ could be seen and he hastily pushed the secret compartment back in to place.
Sam tuned to Elle.
"I will unlock the door. If you are comfortable with centaurs then we can open it and see. If not, I recommend we wait for James. You're right, it could be hurt. And we still don't know how it got here, so I ask that you let me take a look inside first in case we're dealing with something more. Deal?"
"...Sorry for the Princess comment."
Back to the door.
"Celo. Effrego. Iona."
A muffled moan churned inside the door, followed by a metallic CLUNK. Everything fell silent.
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Post by Elle Callahan on Aug 23, 2010 10:25:35 GMT -5
The evil red queen was back and out for blood. Once again Elle had spewed without taking in consideration all of the facts. Her sharp tongue, her weapon of choice, had struck quickly taking over her mind. Really she shouldn't have harped on the man and she felt a tiny smudge of remorse for doing so. Never apologize it was a sign of weakness, unless it was for a gregarious offense.
Passivized by Sam's defense, Elle paused, waiting for him. While she was training to be a doctor she had only the rudimentary knowledge of taking care of animals. While centaurs were not entirely horse they were not all human either, thus she could only heal part of who ever it was.
"I get carried away sometimes, especially when someone is hurt." She said with a dip of head, her tone slightly softer, hinting at an apology. Elle watched the man, half turned away from her as he fiddled with his wand. What was he doing? His tall robust frame hindered her view. The woes of being tiny.
"I've only seen a centaur once and not up close. If it's hurt I do not want to wait. Unless it is in a frenzy and wants to escape." She said taking a step back, allowing Sam to take the lead. It was moments like these that Elle appreciated that chivalry was not dead. Being the first in the line of sight of a hurt centaur was not her idea of fun.
"I over reacted a bit, but it isn't right to treat magical beings as second or even third class species. Applying a human germane term to him or her is just offensive." She said in a calm tone, as she explained how she saw it.
A resounding clunk stopped Elle's tirade on magical being rights. The muffled moan worried her but she wasn't sure if they should go in or not.
"How long until your brother arrives?"
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Post by James Black on Aug 23, 2010 11:44:33 GMT -5
It was a rather windy night at Hogwarts, the shutters on the hut just outside of the Forbidden Forest racked against the window, and the trees of the dark wood faced gusts of wind from every direction. James was inside at a table, slumped over a large book. There was a lit candle right beside it, yet as the candle and the night wore down James slowly started to drift off into the oblivion of sleep.
The groundskeeper was just about to stumble into another one of his strange and awkward dreams when WHACK!, there was a huge slam at his door. He bolted up with a start, "I swear, Mr. Gates, I didn't do it!" Then he realized what was going on. WHACK! There was yet another slam at his door. James sighed heavily and moved his exhausted body to the door and opened it. There was no one there and not a sound to be heard save for the whistling wind. "Seriously?!" he shouted out towards the grounds. Now he was wide awake due to the mysterious, obnoxious disturbance. James heard a loud growl from his stomach and sighed again. Maybe he could make a midnight trip into the castle for a snack.
James knew that the large doors that opened onto the Ground Floor would be locked quite well, thanks to his brother. Fortunately, he knew of a passage Sam had shown him to allow him access to the castle during the hours of the night. James strolled across the grounds in his tattered t-shirt and baggy sweatpants, and eventually followed the passage to find himself on the First Floor. As he began to descend the staircase to his destination, the ever-so annoying shifting began. This night isn't going to well for me so far, he thought to himself with a sigh. James patiently waited for the shift to end when he found himself on the sixth floor. Just as he was about to turn around to try and best the staircase once more, James heard voices. No.. he thought as he thought he heard a very familiar voice.
He entered the floor to see two wizards in dim light. James drew his wand, not sure exactly who was there, and walked up to the two people. "Sam?!" James exclaimed as he saw his brother with his notorious bedhead, "What's going on?" He then saw the young girl, who he had seen a few times throughout the castle yet had never actually talked to. "Oh, I'm not interrupting, am I?" he joked, and smiled.
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Post by sam on Aug 23, 2010 20:46:02 GMT -5
"Oh thank Merlin," Sam sighed (perhaps a little dramatically) at the familiar sound of his brother's voice. The spellsmith rested his head against the door and turned to look at him without moving. There was a 6'0" saving grace he couldn't see fast enough. He smiled tenderly and collapsed his wand in to his pocket.
"You survived the dear Grey Lady. Brilliant. Perhaps you can help us survive the Centaur that appears to be behind this door." Sam failed to conceal an uncertain look that made him appear years younger than he was; a look that he gave his older brother countless times before and that screamed 'I need your guidance' without a single syllable. He didn't have to elaborate on the centaur issue either, and he was thankful for that.
Sam turned to present Elle, making the first eye contact with the young woman since their small diversion on centaur relations. He felt like such a troll and found it difficult to take in her innocent and determined face without berating himself for uttering the centaur's nickname. He knew they were among the most sensitive and intelligent creatures, he just never got on too well with them because his interaction was confined to picture drawings that kept centaur saliva out of the equation.
"James, this is Elle. Elle, this is James. Elle is a healer in training who is visiting Hogwarts to help Nurse with the cataloguing. She's brought up a good point: thinks the centaur might be injured. He - or she - has been bangy. Kicking the door. Upset. Elle, James is my brother and is, bar none, the most gifted handler of magical creatures in the world. I defer to his expertise and stand ready to assist with the door and any unforeseen trappings. I was just about to go in to make sure the coast is clear."
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Post by Elle Callahan on Aug 26, 2010 18:20:10 GMT -5
One minute Elle was lecturing on the rights of creatures and the next a large giant of a man swooped in out of no where. Elle had to stretch her head farther back to look at the taller man. Obviously this was the brother. Elle's eyes widened when the new comer remarked on how their little random chat appeared to those happening upon them. Intimacy. Elle was about to burst with a slightly embarrassed it's not what it seems comment when her large unicorn-in-a-wand-light wide eyes caught his teasing smile. It was a joke. Well thank Merlin, while the Black brothers were good looking Elle did not want anyone to assume she was well dating any one of them. Not because they weren't good people, she didn't know. But because that was just well awkward and a mess. She didn't want them to think she was attracted to them, for surely they both knew how they could make (especially the shy one) any woman feel like swooning.
The comment about the Grey Lady confused Elle at first before remembering Sam mentioning her involvement somehow. While Sam informed his brother about the situation she watched their exchange interested in the bond of siblings.
Then their eyes met and Elle was momentarily lost in a pool of what she assumed were hazel eyes. Elle...wait her name was being said. Faster than a whipper snapper Elle turned her head towards James, extending her hand as introductions were made.
"Hello Mister Gifted." She said with an amused smile at the brotherly affection. It was cute how Sam boasted about his brother. It made Elle wish she had siblings...but only for a second. As in everything, their was a dark side to having a sibling.
"I'll defer to you because my specially is in general healing and charms misfires. I know very little about healing centaurs but I can apply bandages like no other." She had after all been washing bandages, making bandages, arranging bandages and applying them on various objects for half of her life.
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Post by James Black on Aug 26, 2010 22:55:43 GMT -5
James had a confused look at the mention of the Grey Lady, not remembering the ghost ever showing up. But then the obnoxious knocks at his door came to mind, and putting two and two together, realized she must have been behind the rude awakening. Very odd.. not her style, he thought to himself.
James caught the oh-so familiar look that his brother shot his way and nodded slightly in understanding of the situation. Centaur? On the Sixth Floor? I swear if he's pulling a fast one on me.. James shrugged the thought off, trusting his brother.
He smiled at Elle as Sam introduced them both, and shook her hand firmly as she reached hers out. "Nice to meet you Elle. I'm glad you are here helping the Nurse out. Merlin, she needs it." James said. "Now as for this situation, I cannot stress enough the importance of caution. Especially with this one, as they seem to feel the urge to kick." He paused and rubbed his temples trying to figure out the best way to approach this dilemma. "It is hard to say if they are hurt. Nobody would like to be trapped in a room at two in the morning with no way out. If they are, they could also not let us know. Centaurs are very proud and will almost certainly not be willing to receive aid from wizards if their life is not in danger."
James took a deep breath and stepped towards the door. "Let's pray this is one that is acquainted with my dear friend. Now enough with all this suspense." he said jokingly, and then opened the door.
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Post by sam on Aug 30, 2010 22:32:09 GMT -5
Sam stood beside his brother, half turned so that his wand could remain trained on the door while his other hand kept Elle within protective reach. He did not wish to demean Elle's power as a witch; on the contrary - he acknowledged it likely that she could inflict some serious magic that would dwarf the efforts of both him and his brother combined. Chivalry was not entirely dead, however, and in that vain he risked her ire for the peace of knowing he did what he could to shield her from an angry centaur.
The problem was, there was no centaur. Not immediately visible, at least. James opened the door that Sam had unlocked a minute prior and the loud symphony of knocks and whams came to a sudden halt. There was only the open door and immense, impenetrable darkness.
Sam's brow furrowed and arched, and he cast a confused look first at his brother and then Elle. Silence engulfed them.
Nothing.
"Hello?"
After several long moments, Sam inched towards the door frame and attempted to look inside. It was next to impossible to see beyond the first few feet and he soon had no option but to introduce some basic lighting.
"Lumos." He whispered the word, fearing he might startle whatever was trapped inside, but the quiet reply soon underscored a much greater discovery, one that Sam was not entirely equipped to deal with at fifteen past two in the morning. His adrenaline tremored.
"What in the Merlin..."
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Post by Elle Callahan on Sept 5, 2010 15:12:39 GMT -5
Elle was quickly losing her patience as the drama unfolded. She listened with half an ear as James rambled on about the pride of centaurs. If something was wrong Elle would find a way to help the creature, pride be dammed. She was a nearly certified healer she can deal with prickly patients. How different could a centaur be from a grouchy human? They both bite, snarl and kick. The only difference Elle could perceive was an extra pair of legs.
Elle braced herself for an explosion, legs spread apart, back slightly hunched, wand at the ready. She ignored Sam angling herself at his side, abet slightly behind him. When needed she could whip around him and be in the middle of the action. Agility trumps bulk any day. The door was quickly tugged open and nothing happened. No wild, have crazed rampaging creature stormed the door. Not even a cry of shock. Just silence. At first thought Elle thought it was a student pulling a prank but the school was empty. It was a good couple of weeks before the little terrors arrived. Surely they did not have the fore cite to implant this track last year, timing it to go off in the middle of summer.
"What in the Merlin..."
The tiny hairs on Elle's neck pickled as Sam questioned the greatest wizard of all time. Something was obviously wrong and Elle could not see a dam thing! There was a time and place for manly strength and this was not it, for it was blocking her view. Elle tried to see into the room but Sam was in the door way and Elle's eyes came up to his hunk of a shoulder (a finely muscled one...).
"What is it?" She asked impatiently trying to push past. Finally Elle dropped onto the ground to peer into the room through the space around Sam's legs. What she saw extinguished the embarrassment for stooping so low.
In the middle of the room was the notoriously evil Peeves rocking a baby something. The creature was so ugly and well strange that Elle could not identify it nor what it came out of. The room was in tatters, most likely from the baby, if one could call the gigantic thing that.
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Post by sam on Sept 6, 2010 13:35:09 GMT -5
{OOC: Awesome, Elle *rofl*}
Sam suddenly felt queasy, the sight of Peeves' charge reminding him of that evening's turkey dinner. He had never seen such a creature before and while he was unsure whether James had an explanation or identity for the baby beastie, he was certain that it was not a cuddly baby centaur. Maybe a moth mixed with a leviathan.
Sam had learned to be patient with Peeves (perhaps more than he deserved) but it was far too early to butter the interrogation.
"Peeves. What, why, how and why? Explain."
As Sam uttered the question, he felt a peculiar brushing against his legs. He looked down to his feet to find a prone Elle staring at Peeves with an equally stunned look. He felt compelled to ask her the same thing as he had Peeves. She was determined, bless her.
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