Closed Creating a Connection

[Iris van Houten]

Iris was sitting in the grass, waiting for Lysander to join her at Avie's rock, she had brought her Ouija board, which she had set down on the grass next to her. Emma had asked if she could do this for her friend, and Iris was admittedly curious herself. She didn't know Lysander that well, but she knew Emma was close to him and he seemed like a nice boy. She wondered what the boy would want to use the Oujia board for, and why specifically here. She picked a flower and twirled it in her hand before plucking the petals off it one by one.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander had been excited since finding out that Iris had brought a ouija board to the school. After watching so many horror movies with Wendall, he'd been eager to try one out himself and see if it would work in summoning a ghost from beyond the grave. Ever since Olive had passed away, his best friend seemed less interested in it, but he didn't want to give up on trying in case it really worked, and then he could maybe summon Olive so they could talk again. He smiled at Iris when he spotted her on the grass and sat down opposite her. "Hey!" He greeted the girl he used to know as simply Not-Emma, until he learned her name. He dumped the contents of his bag onto the grass, scattering a small pile of heavy candles he'd looted from the castle corridors. His eye caught the board, and his face lit up. "That's so cool! I've never seen one of these up close before." He told her. There'd always been a screen between him and the characters using a board, and he busied himself looking over it.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris put the flower down on her lap as she spotted Lysander approaching, and smiled at him in greeting. "Hello." She said, vaguely surprised Emma wasn't here as well. She watched as he dumped the contents of his bag onto the grass, and reached over to stop one of the candles from rolling away. "I bought it in a muggle store." She explained. "But I think it works. I tried it with two girls in my dormitory." She told him, carefully placing the board on the ground between them, making sure to place the planchette down next to it on the grass. "Emma didn't tell me what you needed this for, would you mind explaining before we begin?" She asked him, meeting his gaze. "Is there a specific spirit you want contact with? Or are you just curious?" Iris asked quietly.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander stopped what he was doing when Iris told him she'd already tried it and thought it worked. "Really? Did you summon a ghost?" He asked excitedly. That sounded amazing, and he had to wonder if it was just like he'd seen in the movies. "I just want to try it out and see, and this is the perfect spot! Do you know about Avie?" he said, turning to look at the rock formation nearby. "People say he drowned, right here in the school. Some people even say a sea monster got him. I heard, that if you're at the lake late at night and see ripples in the water, it's his spirit skipping rocks. That's why there's so many here." He nodded as he spoke, as if everything he'd said was completely true. "Because he died here, I want to try and contact him. That way we can find out how he really died!" It was a good way to test it, and if it worked, he'd be able to use it to contact other ghosts, too. He didn't know why more people didn't try it out. It wasn't so bad when people died if you could just give them a call with a ouija board and chat for a little while.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled slightly but shook her head. "Not a ghost we could see." She told him. "But... we got messages, from a girl who had died at Hogwarts." She said softly, glancing at the board. When she had told Emma, her sister had been skeptical, telling her she had probably just pushed the planchette with Poppy to say something cool and scary, but Iris didn't think so. She guessed Emma's skepticism was the reason she wasn't here right now, hovering over them. She listened as Lysander explained about Avie, shaking her head when he asked if she had heard about him. She knew that the rock had been a memorial for a student, but hadn't known any of the details. "Oh, I didn't know about any of that." She said, looking over at the lake. "That's a sad story." She said softly, then turned back to Lysander. "But we can try." She told him. "If he wants to speak to us." She placed the board between them. "Did... you know the boy who died?" She asked hesitantly, wondering if that's why he knew so much. "Is that why you want to contact him?" It was one thing to talk to a spirit of someone who had died long ago, but there was something different about the idea of trying to reunite Lysander to an old friend. If it didn't work, she thought he would be really sad. Maybe it wasn't the best idea? She wasn't sure.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Hearing that Iris hadn't conjured a ghost in the flesh, or ectoplasm, whatever, was pretty disappointing, but any contact was still contact and that was good enough. "Yeah, really sad." He agreed. He didn't feel particularly upset over it since he didn't know him at all, or even what he looked like, it just seemed like the right thing to say. He shook his head when Iris asked if he knew Avie. "He died forever ago, I would have been really little. I've only heard the stories. I just think its cool to be able to meet ghosts and stuff, especially really old ones. Like, it was way different when they were alive. I bet tons don't even know what computers and cars are!" He laughed. Avie wasn't that old from what he'd heard, though any ghost was still pretty awesome. "He'll totally want to talk to us. He's probably bored, and we've got all these rocks here for him." He said, throwing a glance at the giant pile. Apparently he really liked rocks. "So how do we do this?" He asked, pulling his wand out to tap sparks at the candle wick with hopes it'd ignite. They were always used in the movies, so they at least seemed necessary.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris could tell from Lysander's tone that he wasn't that sad about it, which she was glad about. If he wanted to summon this person because of a personal connection, Iris wasn't sure if she should go on with it. Lysander confirmed the boy died long ago and he didn't know him. She smiled and nodded in agreement as he went on to say why he though it would be interesting to talk to ghosts. "I agree! I haven't had much luck talking to the school ghosts, but I think they would have very interesting stories too." She said excitedly. "I also heard a few haunt in Brightstone." She added, though she had never gone out of her way to find one. She wasn't sure if things would be as cut and dry as Lysander thought, but she was happy to give it a go. "Well, you can start by lighting the candles." She said solemnly, it was best to act like she was an expert at this. She waited until they were lit, then picked up the planchette. She placed it on the board and gestured for Lysander to put his hands on it as well. Then she closed her eyes and spoke. "Hello, if there are any spirits nearby, please speak to us. Let us know you are here." She said, her voice taking on a more mysterious tone. Then she opened her eyes slowly, watching what would happen on the board.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander nodded in agreement. He'd not had any luck talking to the school ghosts either. One of them had a ghost horse, so he decided he was probably a knight when he was alive. "The Gryffindor one is Lady Helena the Brave. I want a title like that when I'm older." Sir Lysander, the Heroic. The Amazing. The Fearless. Any of those was okay with him. He perked up at the mention of the Brightstone ghosts. He'd been around the village enough times to see them floating around. "Yeah, there are! It's cool. They just fly and stuff all day." He said. He'd seen one during his painting day at the park, and again at Gambol and Japes. He'd always thought most ghosts would be old, but he'd looked younger. He continued to work on the candles, eventually catching one alight and using it to ignite the rest, before following Iris' lead in placing his hands on the pointer thing. It was spooky, and he felt a small chill run down his spine. He stared intensely at the board, waiting for something to happen. It didn't seem like anything was at first, and then he felt it move beneath his fingers, jankily sliding in no particular order over the board. "It's a ghost!" He whispered loudly, afraid he'd scare it away if he shouted. "Hey, is this Avie?" He asked, watching to see if it would continue to move.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled at Lysander's words. "I wonder what you'd need to do to get a title like that." She mused. "I think the Ravenclaw ghost is a professor, which I suppose is a pretty Ravenclaw thing." she said, though she hadn't thought it over much. Lysander seemed pretty knowledgeable of the ghosts in Brightstone, and Iris wondered if he lived nearby. But Iris knew that there was no time to chat mindlessly, they had to focus on the spirit. Iris sighed deeply, and when the planchette started to move, Iris smiled slightly. She was glad it was working, and was glad that Lysander seemed to be impressed. The planchette slowly moved to 'yes', and Iris smiled serenely. "I believe we have contact with him. What is it you want to ask?"

 

[Lysander Summers]

The Ravenclaw ghost being a professor was definitely on-brand. They were all so smart, which is probably why they'd won the cup the previous year. Lysander didn't know much about the rest of them, or even who the Hufflepuff one was. The only ghost that really mattered was the one they had contacted, and the boy kept his eyes trained on the pointer thing as it slowly moved towards the 'Yes' in the corner. Lysander drew in a sharp breath, glancing back up at Iris with an excitable grin. "Okay, um. Avie! Did you get eaten by a sea monster?" He asked, tearing his eyes between the board and the air around them in case the dead boy would magically materialise.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris was certain they had a connection with the spirit of the boy they were trying to contact. She could feel it, and she thought Lysander could too. The planchette had moved to yes for the first question, but Iris felt it move after Lysander asked his next question. Iris kept a serene expression on her face, even as her heart was pounding. The planchette moved to 'no' this time, which made sense to Iris. She doubted there were any sea monsters in the lake. "Thank you for speaking to us, Avie." She said in a quiet, somewhat dreamy voice that she felt fit the occasion. "Please, if you can, tell us more about how you died." She added, though she figured Lysander might have another specific question he wanted to ask in addition to this.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander watched excitedly as the pointer thing moved on the board. He just knew it was going to circle around 'yes', and frowned when it began to move away to 'no'. He looked up as Iris asked another question, shivering in anticipation when the pointer started to move again. "D..." He said aloud when the centerpiece highlighted each letter. R. O. W. N. It took forever with how slowly the pointer slid over the board. It was not the fastest way to communicate with the dead. "E...D." He finished, breathing in a sharp breath. "Oh man, that sucks Avie." He told the ghost sympathetically. "Could have been dragged under by the sea monster. That's what kelpies do." He whispered to Iris. He was almost certain there was one that lived in the lake, and it made sense to him that if someone drowned in it, that it had to be because of a monster. "What's it like to be dead, Avie? Do you all hang out in the ghost world and stuff?" He asked. There had to be a dimension or something they all lived in as ghosts.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris stayed as calm as always as she watched the planchette move, but her heart was still pounding in her chest. It was definitely chilling in its own way. She watched with bated breath as the planchette spelled out the word 'drowned'. Iris shivered, nodding at Lysander's words. "Perhaps." She murmured, though she privately thought he was pretty fixated on the sea monster thing. Iris listened to the next question, then watched as the planchette started spelling out the next word. Q. U. I. E. T. Iris bit her lip. "Perhaps... that's a good thing, all calm and peaceful." She said softly, though she couldn't deny that it felt sad.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander sat back, blowing air from his lips as his excitement for the afterlife being remotely cool deflated. "I dunno, sounds kind of boring. Who wants the spend forever somewhere quiet? I'd want to hang out with friends and fly around and stuff. If I wanted somewhere quiet I'd spend all day in the library." He complained. That wasn't at all what he wanted to hear. What was the point of a ghost world if it wasn't more fun than the real world? "Being dead sucks. I'm definitely going to come back as a ghost instead. I don't know why not many people do." It was weird that whenever someone died, they didn't all immediately come back as a ghost so they could still talk to all their friends and family, and not have to worry about the bad stuff like getting hurt or dying again. "It's your turn." He shrugged with a sigh, still bummed about the afterlife sounding boring as heck. He didn't know if they were actually taking turns, but he thought it was Iris' go to ask something else.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris shrugged a little. "I think it's probably a good sign." She said, feeling a little disappointed that Lysander hadn't liked the answer. But it wasn't her answer, it had been Avie who said it, she reminded herself firmly. "Maybe Avie liked quiet." She told him with a small shrug. "I think ghosts are rather... sad, don't you?" She asked him, tilting her head a little. "Wouldn't it make you sad to see everyone you know grow older and die eventually?" She asked him, aware that it was a slightly morbid question but too curious not to ask. Right, yes." She said as she was reminded that it was now her turn. She straightened her back and closed her eyes. "Spirit, are you... at peace?" She asked, then watched through lidded eyes as the planchette started to move. She really hoped it would go to yes.