Snow and Ice (Open)

[Deleted]

january - after winter holiday
@ open

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She hated being home. So much condescension and pressure. You would think after the trauma 'they' suffered as a family, something would've changed. Janie felt foolish for even thinking it would. Instead, her grandfather and mother didn't skip a beat in telling her that she needed to find someone to settle down with and marry so that they could further their precious family line. That was the last thing on Janie's mind, especially after...Janie crossed her arms tighter around her chest and cradled her shoulders. The bitter winter air was refreshing against her wind blown cheeks. She blinked away the tears that threatened her. With how cold it was, she knew they'd freeze to her face. And that just wasn't a good look for anyone. 

Thinking about him made her heart ache in a way she wished she had never experienced. Loosing him...watching him fade in front of her was torture. When she closed her eyes, she saw it. It had been a while now, since everything happened with the fire. The school was rebuilt, people were trying to live their lives again, but she felt like she was stuck in a time loop. Constantly reliving those moments. How could she have been so naive to what her father was doing? The awful things he was involved in? Then again, Janie made it a point to stay as far out of her families business as she could. Part of her felt guilty, another part of her just felt numb. 

Janie was standing near the Black Lake. It was frozen over solid from the cold winter and fresh snow was steady falling. Of course she was cold, but she didn't mind it as much. It was better than being in the castle. She still loved her school, even if it was different now. But sometimes she felt trapped behind the stone walls. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled hard. She looked around and took a few steps closer to the lake, her footsteps crunching in the snow. It was hard to tell exactly how close the frozen water was. Maybe it would get better, it had too. She was already half way through sixth year. At seventeen she could leave home and finally be free. 

Crack...she fell through the ice. 

[reina watanabe nakamura]

January 2028

Since she had wanted to experience it for herself, Reina had made the decision to spend the holidays at Hogwarts instead of going to be with her parents. That had been great, of course, until she had ended up in the Hospital Wing with the flu instead of getting the opportunity to enjoy herself as a new transfer student from Castelobruxo. The weather was still exceptionally wintry outside, so at least she hadn't missed out on that part of it.

Getting to spend time outside in between classes was something of a rarity with her OWL examinations approaching sooner and sooner, but Reina wasn't too concerned about it, really. She would do the best she could and hope that it was good enough to get her into decent subjects at NEWT level so that she could continue her pursuit of becoming a dragonologist like her parents.

Reina was thankful for the warmth of the uniform robes that the MAGIC students were still required to wear, even though the MYSTIC and LIFE students could wear what they liked to school each day. The cloak was warm enough that even the snow wasn't too much of a problem, but she had made sure to wear a scarf, knit cap, and gloves—all in Gryffindor colors—just in case.

With time to spare, she decided to go down in the direction of the Black Lake. From what she had heard since she had arrived at MAGIC the previous September, it certainly wasn't a swimming hole. If anything, it was better for observing all sorts of magical creatures that lived within its depths, not that Reina had gone into the water for herself.

Even when it was iced over, the lake was pretty to look at, and Reina saw that she wasn't the only one. Another girl—who must have been older because of her lack of uniform—stepped even closer to the frozen body of water… and fell through the ice that was covering the surface of the lake.

Not believing what she had seen at first, Reina blinked, feeling as though she might be sick. She knew that she couldn't just jump in the water after the older girl in an attempt to rescue her, and she didn't think that it would be advisable to attempt to walk on the ice. She could try to make it back to one of the school buildings to get a staff member to help, but what if that help came too late?

"Hello?! Can you hear me?!" she called, almost screaming and trying to get closer to the lake without tripping and falling in the snow. She hoped that the older girl would be able to give her some sort of signal that she was okay.

@amelia