Open Just Resting My Eyes

Matt loved being at Hogwarts, which was fortunate as he spent most of his time there. His favorite part of the castle was easily the library, and having near-unlimited access to it made his Ravenclaw heart soar. Matt could fairly often be found looking around for new and interesting books to borrow, but he usually took them to his office to read them. This time, Matt decided to settle in a nice, comfortable chair and read for a while. He was trying to be more present in the school, as he really didn't want to be seen as just the guy you went to if you were in trouble. Sometimes he missed the easy rapport he'd had with students as a teacher, it all felt a lot more complicated now.

The book was interesting but dense. And the chair was very, very, comfortable. It wasn't very long until Matt's eyes started to droop. He fought it for a bit, blinking them open again and trying to read, but eventually, he gave in. Surely there was nothing wrong with him resting his eyes, just for a moment? Before he knew it, Matt dozed off into a peaceful slumber in the library.

Sofi's favourite place in Hogwarts so far was the library. The smell and the atmosphere really resonated with the calm she looked for. Most of the topics were over her head but she was just getting a feel for the books at this stage. The seats were comfortable too, especially the armchairs which Sofi had found on her last visit. She soon found them again, only this time they were occupied by the headmaster.

Sofi froze at the sight of the headmaster. His unmoving form sent a shiver down her spine, triggering a surge of panic. She couldn't stay here, she had to find help. Racing to the nearest aisle, Sofi's breathless plea for assistance betrayed her rising fear as she approached the first person she found, thankfully a person of authority. "Y-you, head girl!" she stammered, her voice trembling with urgency. "The headmaster... quick, he's..." Her words caught in her throat as she struggled to articulate the gravity of the situation. With trembling hands, she tugged at the head girl's robes, leading the way, "The headmaster is dead!"

[@Aine Thompson godmod with permission]

Aine knew this year was going to be busy. Even with her making the likely wise decision to cut down her classes a little more, it was still NEWT year which meant a whole lot of revision. Right now, she was taking the opportunity to look back over early History of Magic information, to try and remember details about the witch trials that had disappeared over time. At least finding the right information she needed and making notes she'd hopefully remember to consult before the exams, that was.

She was a little bewildered by the sudden appearance of a first year - one of the Hufflepuffs, she believed - and had to take a moment to process what was said. Aine blinked a few times, jolted away from her position and carefully closing the book, even as the words made her panic. "What?" she spluttered, colour draining from her face. "Don't be ridiculous, wizards don't just up and die suddenly," she insisted hurriedly, at least if Professor Styx was anything to go by. In saying that, she still let herself be led by the younger girl, knowing she couldn't afford not to take something like this seriously. Maybe Professor Alcott-Ward had some health problems he hadn't made public, or just something freakishly unexpected happened. "I knew I should've taken that first aid course...uh, okay, stay calm, it's probably not as bad as you think..."

Sofi's panic surged, "They do if they've been poisoned!" She frantically led the head girl to the man, believing it too late for any first aid at this stage. She pointed to the man slumped in an armchair, her voice barely above a whisper, "Look, see, he's not moving! He must be dead!" She urged, pounding with dread at the thought of the headmaster being dead!

Matt was a light sleeper, and something was disturbing his slumber. It was a little annoying, as he was having quite a nice dream about teaching a class. All the students were interested and asked insightful questions. Not a single one was doodling on their parchment. The frantic whisper near him translated to his dreams, changing it. The quiet classroom he had been teaching was suddenly unsettled and panicked. "'s fine..." He mumbled out loud. "'sjust.. ancient Egypt." He mumbled, stirring as he slowly started to wake up.

Aine really wasn't sure how she was going to explain this, if the professor really was dead it was going to be a logistical nightmare to deal with. Not to mention he was a nice man and she liked him, though somehow in the moment that fact was coming second to dreading the paperwork that would be involved somehow, as though that was a normal thing to think. Thankfully, upon seeing him, and hearing some muffled words, Aine realized exactly what was going on. Of course, the headmaster being asleep was also not a good look in front of a first year, and for some reason Aine's immediate instinct was to work to protect his reputation.

"Oh, dear," she said, taking a deep breath and turning away from the sleeping professor to face the young girl. "I've heard about this. Some of the chairs are cursed. Nothing dangerous, of course, but have you ever been on a couch and struggled to get back up? It's a specific chair curse," she said, nodding and sounding as reputable as possible. "It's a good thing you noticed when you did. I think he'll be okay, the curse usually wears off after a while and it isn't too dangerous, we'll just have to keep half an eye on it to make sure he doesn't get eternally trapped."

Sofi's grip tightened on the head girl's robes as the headmaster suddenly moved and mumbled something. Relief flooded over her as she realised he wasn't actually dead, but that relief quickly turned to dread as the head girl explained that he was affected by some sort of chair curse. The initial panic started to resurface, as Sofi lapped up every word the head girl spoke. "Chair curse?" Sofi echoed, her voice trembling, the thought sent shivers down her spine.

As the head girl continued to explain, Sofi's mind raced, trying to process what was happening. She remembered sitting in that very armchair last time she was in the library, and finding it quite comfortable. In fact she had returned to the library hoping to sit there again. Could it be that she, too, was now affected by the curse? The realisation hit her like a ton of bricks, and her breathing became erratic. Panic surged through her veins, threatening to overwhelm her completely.

Suddenly, Sofi's vision blurred and she felt faint. Her grip on the head girl loosened as darkness encroached. With a soft gasp, she collapsed, her body succumbing to the overwhelming stress and fear.

Someone speaking nearby made Matt slowly wake up more and more, his brain was unable to block it out and also unable to make it fit into his dream. He stirred, eyes fluttering open just in time to take in two things. One: two students were staring at him. Two: one of them collapsed. Matt sat up with a jolt, eyes widening as he stumbled out of the chair, though it was too late to catch the girl. He got to his feet, heart racing as he quickly reoriented to the waking world. He stared at Aine. "Wh- what happened?!" He asked, half hoping he was still dreaming. He blinked a few more times, then sank to his knees to look at the young girl. Was she okay?

Well, this was awkward. Just as she was contemplating asking a half-asleep Professor Alcott-Ward about sphynxes or ancient Egyptian magic, Aine's well meaning teasing (that at least had something of a grain of truth about it, if Violet was to be believed) had backfired horribly. And now she had to look between the dazed and rightfully concerned headmaster, and the first year who was lying on the floor. "Professor, I assure you there's a very good explanation," she said, dryly, wondering if this would be the moment he realized he'd made a horrible mistake and immediately revoked her authority, handing her badge to someone who fit the mould of a school captain far more than she did. "Apparently, she's never seen an adult having a snooze before. That, and my comedy needs some serious work, if this is the reaction I get." Her mouth twitched slightly in an uncomfortable smile, desperately hoping this situation would end up humourous and she hadn't just sent a first year to an early grave. Classes had barely started, after all. She hadn't even had a chance to get knocked out from a stunning spell. "Should I, uh...conjure up water to splash on her face or something?"

Sofi's eyelids fluttered open to the sight of the hard library floor and the surprising presence of the headmaster crouched beside her. She winced as an ache pulsed through her shoulder, reminding her of the fall. Feeling a flush of embarrassment at her undignified position on the library floor, Sofi struggled to push herself upright. Her voice emerged hoarse, posing a question that hovered on the edge of her consciousness, "Ha-has the curse broken?"

Matt felt slightly reassured when the newly appointed head girl told him there was a good explanation, his brain could use a good explanation right now, preferably serveral. But then the explanation Aine gave wasn't all that good, or at least, it raised more questions than it answered. "Am I still sleeping?" Matt muttered, rubbing at his eyes. But no, he was awake, he could feel the ache in his knees reminding him he was getting old. His dreams never got quite that real. Matt shook his head at Aine's question about the water and reached for his wand, but before he could try anything, the girl woke up again. Thank Merlin. Though her words made no sense. "Curse?" He asked, glancing at Aine and back at the young girl. "Can you explain what you mean?"

Well, now she was in trouble, Aine thought, a little despondently. Still, at least her training with Professor Styx had taught her one thing - how to keep a stiff upper lip. Her panic was not as obvious as it felt, hopefully, and she sighed. "She told me you were dead, Professor, and I...was not thinking properly." Aine explained, her shoulders slumping as she did. Looking back down at the girl she shook her head. "Yep, totally fine, I was mistaken, the staff here make sure that anything cursed is kept in the restricted section only. No curses, only rests." That probably didn't help either, but she was in this too deep to start being actually honest.