Open A Flame In The Night

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia would master this. She had to. It was an advanced spell, but that was no excuse to her. If it was something she could realistically do, then she would just have to do it. She had to prove herself as the best. Then she'd master her appearance, too - she'd look into fashion so she could be strong and stylish. She had a plan - she'd get the spells down, she'd get a makeover in the break, and she'd come back in second year ready to truly make a name for herself. Then she could ingratiate herself in the Elite Sisterhood, too, and truly learn how to get ahead. She'd back up her skills with her confidence and bearing and her name would go down in history as one of the greatest witches the school had ever produced.

...although that was still a long way off. Crowds were intimidating. And the bluebell flame was really more of a birthday candle light when she did get it, extinguishing very quickly. So after sending a letter to her father (which may or may not have been filled with exclamations about how awful potions class was) she tucked herself in an alcove on the way down from the Owlery, practicing until she had to make the long walk back to her dorm.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah was used to keeping to herself but she had become even more withdrawn since her splinching incident. She knew it wasn’t her fault and this kind of thing happened to people all the time. She knew she should be grateful that all she had to show for it was a slowly healing cut on her leg but the embarrassment stung the worst. But she still had to show her face at meals and for her patrols. She wasn’t sure when the habit started but she realized she tended to patrol even when she was simply walking down the halls. Delilah wasn’t sure if she would have noticed the first year if she hadn’t been subconsciously keeping an eye out. She paused for a moment and decided it was better to be safe than sorry so she ducked her head into the alcove where the girl was sitting. “Are you lost?” she asked tentatively. It wasn’t the most complicated part of the castle but she knew how easy it could be to get turned around if you weren’t as familiar.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Just as Yuelia had managed to carefully place a decently sized flame in the small jar, quite pleased that she'd fashioned herself a little lamp, she was interrupted by the voice of an older student and jumped, the bluebell flame dimming to that of an ember. Had she lost track of time so badly? She didn't think it was quite that late, but her eyes fixed on an older girl with a prefect's badge and she shrunk a little. She hadn't heard a call out that it was nearly curfew, at any rate. "Oh, no, I'm not..." she quickly started, shaking her head. "I didn't realize how late it was, forgive me." She spoke so stiffly and formally, as it was in her best interests to be polite to prefects. "It is a very long walk from the Owlery to the dorms," she added, a little more shyly. How childish would she be thought of if the main reason she was working on perfecting this spell was to have extra light because she was scared of the dark? Only babies were scared of the dark.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah was relieved when the girl said she wasn’t in fact lost. That was good and she let out a breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding. “Oh, it’s alright.” she said quickly, hoping the younger girl knew she wasn’t in trouble. “Yes, I imagine it’s quite far from the dungeons.” she said with a small laugh when she noticed the Slytherin pin on the girl’s robes. She also noticed that the girl seemed a little nervous. Was she scared about walking the halls at night? She didn’t know her background but the castle could be a bit frightening to everyone at times. “Would you like me to walk with you?” she asked. It was only then she noticed the small jar the girl was holding and Delilah started to wonder if she had maybe misread the situation. Either way it might be a good idea to keep a close eye.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

Yuelia suddenly felt painfully aware of how strange she looked. She still didn't like this, hating the idea of being judged or derided. But ever since she'd first met other students and felt their judgement she was more...lacking in confidence. She knew she waa good at magic, or at least, she'd thought she was. But her clothes were too old fashioned, her choice in pet strange, and she really just longed to be able to read people's minds to know what they expected. She looked down at the glass jar and bit her lip. "I wanted to make a lantern," she admitted. There wasn't much point in lying to a prefect, and perhaps the older girl would have advice. "I'm not scared or anything, I just thought it would be nice," Yuelia hurriedly added, as though she had to justify herself. She cleared her throat and cast the spell again, and the flame appeared. She carefully guided it to the jar, but it had flickered out before she finished placing it. "I don't understand why I keep getting it wrong."

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah felt relieved when the young girl admitted to what she was up to. She never liked to deal with being an authority figure and was glad she wouldn't have to be now. She was about to reassure her that everything was quite alright but was cut off as she demonstrated the spell. She did her best to hold in a chuckle and felt an odd sense of nostalgia. She remembered being a first year herself and watching Brooke try to show off with that exact spell. "Well you're getting quite close." she said encouragingly. Getting the flames to appear at all was nothing to turn your nose up at. But she could also understand her frustration. Delilah had delt with her share of difficult spells. There were a variety of things that could be causing the problem but she wasn't a charms professor and only knew so much. But what she did know was wands. "Sometimes wands are much smarter than they should be." she began. "Is there something on your mind that could be blocking you?" Delilah asked tentatively.

 

[Yuelia Rossingol]

"Both wands and birds," Yuelia admitted, softly. She hoped sending Thanatos to deliver a letter would work off some of his excess energy and maybe he'd behave a little more. He seemed indignant about it but her father always made sure to give the raven treats and indulge him a little for his daughter's sake. Owls were better for letters but between Yuelia and Leon, Thanatos was willing enough to deliver. "Ah..." she started, thinking for a moment. She had a pretty clear idea, but didn't want to wallow or vent to this girl. "I think it's just because it's a long year," she said, calmly. An easy enough explanation. "It's a long time away from home." Plus, teaching herself all alone was miserable and lonely, but the prefect didn't need that level of baggage from a kid.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah hesitated when the girl mentioned birds. She wasn't sure what birds had to do with anything but she didn't dwell on it. But she did listen sympathetically as the young Slytherin explained why she might be having some trouble. "First year definitely feels the longest." she said soothingly. "But it does get better." she added sincerely, and for the most part it was true. Delilah knew that her situation wasn't exactly normal and that most students didn't have their whole world crumble in the middle of their fifth year. But she had gotten back up and made it this far. Saying it gets better might have been a stretch but there was a resilience that came with each year that she couldn't deny. "Well my name is Delilah by the way." she said, realizing she hadn't introduced herself. "I know I'm probably not your first choice, but if you ever need to talk you can try and find me." she offered, not sure if it was pointless or not. She knew she wouldn't have listened if a prefect had tried to talk to her when she was a first year.