Catch The Snitch

(start of December, 2005)

Jade had been having a good day up until that point. She'd finished her brewing assignment, and was leaving the Potions lab slightly early to head up to the DADA classroom, expecting to take a practical test on the prior month's material. But just as she rounded a corner on the ground floor, she was struck by a spell from behind. Dropping her potions textbook, she quickly drew her wand, turned around, and looked for her attacker, but couldn't see anyone--she wasn't even sure from which of three possible directions the attack had come. There were alcoves in each of the corridors where her attacker could be hiding, if they were still around.

Then the top of her head suddenly started to hurt badly, above her temples. She reached up to feel the two sore spots just as two pointy protrusions erupted through her skin. She couldn't help but let out a scream of pain that echoed down the corridors. Panicking, and forgetting her textbook, she ran to the nearest washroom and looked in the mirror. To her horror, she was now sporting a small pair of antlers! There was some blood at their base where her skin had been pierced. The antlers were still growing larger and thickening, causing more pain at their base as the holes in her skin tore wider.

Wincing horribly, she tapped her wand to her forehead and uttered, 'finite incantatum', but unfortunately, the spell seemed to have no effect. She screamed again in a combination of pain and frustration at having been attacked, releasing some accidental magic in the process that caused all the mirrors to shatter. Then she slumped to the floor and curled up with her back to the wall, crying, her wand loosely dangling from one hand with her arms folded over her knees. She wasn't bleeding fast, but it was enough for her robes to become blood-stained.

Anastacia had just left Charms and was headed to the ground floor to meet up with some friends during her her free hour. Had the weather been warmer, they would've met out in the Quad and enjoyed the fresh air and flowers in bloom, but instead, it was cold and windy -- hardly the time to enjoy the sunlight in her mind. Nevertheless, she walked down the corridors and stairs with her usual happy face and sunny demeanor. When she reached the ground floor she heard a scream come from the corridor to her right, where she knew the bathrooms were located.

As she peered around the corner, a figure bumped into her and disappeared into the group of students walking about. "Hey, excu--" Anastacia turned her head back toward the corridor when she heard the first scream. She saw a little first year, presumably, running toward the bathroom. She wondered if the two had gotten into some sort of argument or a novice duel as first years were wont to do.

Then, a second scream came from where the little one had gone into the bathrooms followed by shattering. Anastacia looked around for signs of the figure or a professor, but both queries came up empty. She gave a bit of a pout as her brain told her to forsake her friends and check on the little girl. All she wanted to do was hang out with her friends, but she let her conscience win and headed toward the bathroom after throwing up her hands. When she walked in, she noticed all of the glass on the floor and the student standing there. "Umm, hello? Is everything okay? Did you... do this?" Ugh, her favorite mirror was shattered, too. It was slightly warped, so it always made her look a hair thinner when posing in it. Anastacia stood there and resisted the urge to cast a repairing charm. Something seemed off.

Jade sniffled and used her sleeve to wipe away her tears, then inclined her head toward Anastacia. She didn't seem to recognize the much older girl. Then she turned her head to look at the broken mirror shards scattered about the floor. "I didn't mean to," she said apologetically. "I think it was accidental magic. I'm sorry. I don't know how to do the repairing spell yet."

She reached up to feel about the base of one of her antlers, and found it to be quite tender, and she got some blood on her fingertip in the process. "Someone hexed these stupid things onto me, and they really hurt. I was just so mad... I'm always getting picked on because of who my parents were, and what they did. As if any of that was my fault!"

"...I'm going to be late for my DADA test..." She stood up, and wondered how Prof. Forrester would react upon seeing her with antlers and bleeding all over the place, but she didn't seem to think going to the infirmary would excuse her from her test. Typical first-year confused priorities...

Anastacia set her bag down and stepped closer to the girl to examine the antlers on her head. She pulled her wand from her cloak and gave it a wave toward the wall behind Jade. "Repairo!" The glittery dust from the ground began to trail toward the wall and reform the mirrors. She couldn't help but wonder if that one mirror would be fixed properly or if it would go back to it's slightly warped state. Personally, she hoped the latter.

She turned her attention back to the girl and her antlers, studying the once more as if she had any idea what to do. "I think Professor Forrester would understand you being late due to being hexed. We really need to get you to the Hospital Wing to fix this." Anastacia didn't give any indication that she was going to head toward the Hospital Wing, but rather stood there looking over the girl's malady. A bit absently, she continued, "Or maybe Professor Forrester would know how to fix it... then you wouldn't be as late to the test..."

Anastacia wondered if there was something she could cast to fix it. It was more for her own amusement than truly helping the First Year. Her conscience kicked in and told her not to. What if she accidentally injured her further? +

"Oh, I'm Anastacia Brotherton, by the way. And you are...?"

Jade watched as broken shards of mirror magically lifted off the floor and reassembled themselves, looking as though nothing had ever happened to them. "I wish everything in life could be fixed as easily," she commented. At least there was no harm done, so she wouldn't get in trouble for her bout of accidental magic.

She looked at Anastacia dubiously when she claimed Prof. Forrester would be lenient, though she couldn't recall any case of him being overly strict. Maybe she was telling the truth? Anastacia being a Ravenclaw gave her somewhat more credibility than if she'd been a Gryffindor who she expected would try to get her into trouble.

"...all right. I'll go to the hospital wing," she decided as she stood up, stepped up to one of the sinks, and studied her ridiculous reflection. "At least my classmates won't see me like this." She ran some water to splash on her hair and face, trying to wash away as much blood as she could. Then she experimentally reached a hand up to feel how sharp the points of her antlers were.

"I'm Jade Fox," she said when Anastacia introduced herself, then turned around to face her.

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Jade. I tell you what. I have some free time. Why don't I walk you to the Hospital Wing?" Anastacia gave a friendly smile to the little first year. She felt terrible about what had happened, and even worse that she didn't know how to make it better. Antlers were a new one for her to see. She was used to trick candies and food causing people to spew out slugs, but never something that made them grow antlers!

She made her way towards the door of the bathroom and opened it, offering a gesture for Jade to go first. In her mind, Anastacia was mapping out the best path to the Hospital Wing to avoid any eyes from seeing the malady that had fallen on the poor girl. Moreover, she was trying to avoid professors, especially those who would accuse her of being the source. There were a few in her mind that would probably even cause a scene and take over, which she was sure that was the last thing Jade would have wanted.

"Off we go! I know a passage or two that we can take to avoid some of the professors, too."

Jade blinked, surprised that Anastacia was offering to help. "Just like that? Won't you be late for class? Or is this a free period for you? I don't want you to get in to get in trouble because of me."

The thought of possibly learning a new route or passage was intriguing though, so she didn't need much persuading. "All right," she said as she began to follow along. As soon as they were in the corridor, she spotted her potions textbook on the floor where she'd dropped it. She crouched down to pick it up, its spine a little dented at one end and some pages now badly creased. If not for the fresh damage, it looked like a brand-new book.