High in the Sky, Flat on the Ground [open]

[Deleted]

It felt like forever since Lena had been on a broom. It wasn't exactly easy to practice flying in the Muggle world. It also didn't help that she lived in a suburb, with people outside day and night. Occasionally, she would drive - how weird that felt after the thrill of learning to fly and apparate - off to an abandoned park and practice, but that was rare. For the most part, she just waited for school to return.

Now that it had, a lot of exciting things were in store. This Triwizard Tournament thing, for example. Apparently, it was a huge deal. Dangerous, too, if only those seventeen and older could participate. That put Lena in the running, if she so chose. Some of her friends were pushing her to enter. The bragging rights it would bring Hogwarts would be unreal. The winnings were nice, too. But Lena was constantly reminded by naysayers that she was a Muggleborn and didn't deserve the right to participate. "Only a real witch or wizard should be able to compete."

In the meantime, she would just enjoy the skies. She had time to figure it out. What was the rush?

As the Ravenclaw launched herself into the air on her Nimbus 2001 - an older model, but she didn't mind - a giddy smile spread across her face as she felt the wind begin to blow her long hair in different direction and kiss at her face. There were few things that compared to flying. Soaring higher and higher until you could almost touch the clouds, feeling the wind play with your hair, ducking, rolling, becoming one with the breeze. No, there wasn't anything like it.

Her flying was rusty. Some of her old twists and turns were sloppy and didn't come to her as easily. Her skills would return with practice, of course, but she was over-confident. She wasn't very high when she decided to somersault her broom, but she was still well within the air. As she flipped, a tailwind caught the end of her broom, spinning her over again and causing her to lose her grip. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The pain in her knee was unreal. She clutched at it, gritting her teeth against the pain. Stupid, stupid.

[Deleted]

@helena
<3

Ian was taking his day off to relax. Not do homework, not study, just relax. He woke up late, ate breakfast late, and was being completely lazy. And he loved it. After leaving the great hall he took a large coffee to go and walked around for a bit. Ian didn't know exactly what he was planning to do, or what he wanted to do; he couldn't spot any friends around so he just kept to himself.

His feet brought him to the quidditch pitch and he pulled out a cigarette. He leaned up against the bleachers and lit the cigarette. As he smoked, he watched people fooling around in the field and others who were just passing by. There was one girl up on a broom, he couldn't remember her name but she was also a seventh year. And by her robe attire, she was a Ravenclaw. He'd had a few classes with her but never spoke with her. He finished up his smoke and flicked it onto the ground before stepping on it. Ian took a sip of coffee, looked up, and she was no longer there. He scrunched up his eyebrows when he heard a loud thud, and his eyes widened. "Shit."

Ian put his coffee down and ran over to her. She looked extremely in pain. He kneeled down and looked into her eyes. "What hurts?"

[Deleted]

Lena looked up, and her grimace wasn't just one of pain. She hated showing weakness in front of other people. And as the redhead approached her, she was fully aware that the discomfort from her throbbing knee was etched plainly on her face. She swore under her breath. The guy seemed friendly enough, and his face showed genuine concern as he looked her over.

"My knee," she grumbled, wincing at the tightness in her voice. She tried to stand up, but the moment she stood up, her right leg buckled beneath her, a jolt of pain radiating out from her knee cap. Clearing her mind and try to shoo away the overwhelming thought of pain, her limited medical training came back to her. She had helped her parents in the veterinarian office on more than one occasion and they had taught her a lot about the way bodies worked, even if the examples had been injured animals. As far as she could tell, nothing was broken. Her knee was turning dark shades of purple, the ruptured blood vessels pooling out underneath her skin. If she had to guess, it was a torn ligament. She would live.

"Damn," she cursed. "So much for entering the tournament." A pang of longing shot through her and she realized she had actually been looking forward to the opportunity. Maybe Madame Blacksmith could fix her up before the deadline ended.

"Damn," she repeated.

@jill7

[Deleted]

@helena
Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford & Sons
<3

The girl looked quite in a bit of pain. He wasn't so great with healing, but he had read a few things here and there. It was just time for him to rack his brain to see if he would remember anything. The girl began to stand up, and Ian made a grimace himself as she couldn't because of the pain. Glancing down when she mentioned her knee, he saw it changing colors. Well, that definitely wasn't good.

Ian did remember one thing, but he wasn't sure how to fix whatever was wrong, and he also had no idea what was wrong. He smiled softly at the girl and pulled out his wand. "Ferula." A splint appeared on her knee, making sure it would stay in place. Ian knew this would be enough to get her up, but he wasn't sure how he would possibly walk her to the hospital wing. It wasn't far, but it would be difficult. "Is that okay? Does anything else hurt?"

[Deleted]

Lena watched with curious eyes as a splint appeared on her leg. Why hadn't she thought of that? Of course, pain clouded one's judgement, but she was a Ravenclaw and a future healer. Setting the damaged area should have been her first thought. She returned the boy's smiled with one of her own and tried to stand again. She could feel the bruises pulsating along with her heartbeat, but the splint did help a little. It was odd. One would think that more pressure would cause more pain, but it somewhat alleviated hers.

"No, I think that's it," she said hesitantly. She shook out her arms. They ached dully, but she could live with that. She gently rotated her head. Her neck seemed to be in good condition. She stretched out her good leg. No damage there either. But the longer she stood on her injured leg, the more it pulsed and screamed. Easing herself back onto the ground, she thought with relief that at least the grass was soft. She needed to go to the hospital wing, but it would have to wait until she could stomach the pain.

Looking up at the boy, she narrowed her eyes. He looked familiar. "You're name is Ian, right? I think we have a few classes together."

@jill7

[Deleted]

@helena
<3

Ian watched her as she shook out her arms. She still seemed in pain, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He couldn't conjure up a pain relief potion, he'd have to get her to the Hospital Wing somehow. How exactly, he wasn't sure. He could...float her there. But he wasn't sure that this girl would enjoy that idea too much. She eventually gave in to the pain and sat back down on the ground.

She asked his name and he nodded, an eyebrow raised. "Yes, Ian. And you are...Helena, I believe?" They did have classes together. However Ian tended to keep to himself during classes. It was just how he was, he focused on work or his brain was wandering most of the time.

[Deleted]

"Lena. Just Lena," she corrected gently. Helena just sounded to formal in her ears, and no one but her mother called her that, and, even then, only when Lena had done something wrong. Which was rarely, but it happened.

The girl craned her head back and closed her eyes to let the September sun shine down on her face. It wasn't the same as feeling the wind in her hair, but it was warming and revitalizing. It was almost enough to make her forget about the pain in her knee. Cracking one eye open, she saw that Ian was still hovering over her, that look of concern still etched in his face. She wasn't used to that kind of fussing. She considered herself too independent for that. Unless Ranger was around...

Lena shook her head of the thought. So, uh," she blubbered, trying to make conversation. Ian obviously wasn't going anywhere until she did. It was nice, but strange. "Are you, uh, entering the tournament?"

@jill7

[Deleted]

@helena
<3

Ian smiled gently at Lena and nodded. "Of course, Lena. I apologize." He knew people were very adamant about their name, his older brother for example. Lip. His name was Philip, but he absolutely despised it.

As Lena leaned backwards and shut her eyes, Ian felt a little weird about sitting there staring at her still. He wasn't sure if she was okay and wanted him to leave, but he figured he'd stay unless she said so. She opened her eyes and asked him about the tournament. Ian rose a brow but smirked. "Uh, I'm not sure. I've been thinking about it but I'm not positive I will be."

[Deleted]

Lena nodded, understanding quite well how Ian felt about entering the tournament. If she was selected out of the dozens of other Hogwarts students entering, there would be an extreme amount of pressure and pride on the line. She would somehow have to find time to balance the tournament, classes, and her meager social life - if she was selected, of course. She smiled to herself, wondering if other people were already planning out their year with the notion that they were already the school champion.

"It's a huge deal," she admitted thoughtfully. "There's a lot on the line. But since the Quidditch matches will most likely be cancelled, it's not like I'll have much else to do." Stumbling to her feet again and taking great care not to put too much weight on her injured leg, Lena brushed the grass off her clothes and straightened herself out. "Well, if I'm going to enter the tournament at all, I better get this taken care of. Mind giving me a hand?" she asked, extending her hand for assistance.

@jill7

[Deleted]

@helena
<3

Ian laughed, he couldn't help it. He wasn't on the Quidditch Team, nor was he in any clubs. But Lena did have a point. Many students would just be following along, trying to figure everything out and get extremely close with whomever the champions were. Ian wasn't that type of person, but he'd definitely be interested in the tasks and what was going to follow. "You may as well. There's always a chance you will or will not win, right?" Ian shrugged.

She got up with a little difficulty, and Ian stood up immediately as she held her hand out. His eyes widened, not wanting her to hurt herself anymore than she already was. He moved his body so that her arm was around his neck. Granted, he was much taller than she, but he had to get her to the hospital wing. "Well I hope you do get it fixed, that would not be a great start to the year if it took awhile. I'm sure the nurses will fix it right up for you." Ian smiled softly at Helena.

[Deleted]

Lena allowed herself to lean into Ian, letting him take most of her weight. The relief on her injured knee was immediate, and she decided she would let her independence rest until Madame Blacksmith could look at her leg. She had no doubt that the older witch could fix her up in a jiffy, but it still worried her. It would probably worry her even when she was in the medical field herself. What if he magic didn't do enough to help or save a patient? What if someone died under her care...

Lena shook the thought away and focused on walking, er, hopping. There was plenty of time to worry about dead patients after she was graduated. For now, she needed to focus on herself. The less time she had to spend making herself and Ian uncomfortable, the better. She steadied herself on her good leg and curled the injured one beneath her. The less pain she could inflict on herself, the happier she would be. She returned Ian's smile and let him lead the way. This was going to be a long walk.

@jill7

[Deleted]

@helena
<3

As Helena let her body weight rest onto Ian, he struggled for only a moment to hold her up. He was a strong guy, and Helena wasn't really heavy. He just hadn't carried someone in a long time, so it was a different feeling that he wasn't so used to.

Lena began hopping and Ian smiled. He didn't laugh because it wasn't really a funny situation, but watching her attempt to walk was slightly amusing. He rose an eyebrow and coughed. "Well, let's hope we can just get you there without another injury, eh?" He kept a tight hold on her, hoping he wasn't hurting her too bad as they began to walk. "So, other than your knee, how are you?"

[Deleted]

Zytka hated to admit it, but she almost wished it was possible for more students to be injured in her class, simply because she enjoyed visiting the hospital wing and speaking to a certain nurse. When a student came running up to her classroom proclaiming that someone had fallen off her broom, Zytka leapt at the opportunity to escort someone to the hospital wing. She had practically flown down to the pitch (pun intended) and fairly easily spotted the student in question, who was currently being supported by another student. Zytka slowed her approach as she neared the pair, walking with the calm, smooth strides that separated professor from frantic lover. Just as she was approaching the couple, the boy began asking the girl how she was aside from her knee, which Zytka assumed was where she had been hurt. "I don't believe now is the the time for small talk, nie?" She asked softly. "I can escort this young lady to the hospital wing." Zytka told the boy. Neither of them were her students, as far as she remembered, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be a Good Samaritan. Zytka had forgotten her wand, but that was no matter. With a swoop of her hand, Zytka levitated the girl a few inches off the ground, so there would be no pressure on her injured extremity. Zytka looked at the boy, and raised her eyebrows. "You're dismissed." She told him curtly.

[Deleted]

Lena managed a small smile, and directed it toward Ian. This was probably the most awkward situation she'd ever been in, and it couldn't have been much more comfortable for him. But he was being kind and helpful, and Lena tried to show her gratitude the best way she could. "I'll survive. It's just a scratch." The joke was weak, and she knew it. Her knee pulsed with pain, but she was bound and determined to tough it out.

She looked up as someone approached. She recognized Professor Kamuntu from the head table in the Great Hall, but she never took Ancient Runes. It didn't really jive with becoming a healer, and although Lena was fascinated by all things in the magical world, it just didn't suit her interests. When the professor claimed that she would be escorting her to the hospital wing, Lena flushed.

But things didn't get really uncomfortable until Professor Kamuntu levitated her. She didn't like the feeling of being off the ground without a broom under her. She felt like a display trophy, and her cheeks reddened with embarrassment as she looked helplessly at the pair in front of her. "Professor, with all due respect, I think I can walk," she said quickly, trying not to let a whine creep into her voice.

@jill7
@zytka

[Deleted]

@helena , @zytka
<3

Ian smiled back at Lena, trying to be comforting. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to have to be walked to the Hospital Wing, let alone not really being able to walk on her own. Her joke made him chuckle. "Yeah, you'll only need a small Band-Aid!" He grinned at her, hoping he made her feel better.

And then a Professor made her way over to them. As she spoke, Ian wasn't a fan of her attitude. He had never had her as a Professor, but he didn't understand some of them. If they wanted respect, they had to give it. And she wasn't. Nor did she ask Lena what she wanted to do, she just assumed she'd take over everything. And when she did, and levitated her into the air, Ian could tell Lena wasn't comfortable. Not only for the tone of her voice, but the color of her face. "Forgive me, Professor, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm making sure she gets to the hospital wing and is okay, as a friend. There's no reason I can't. I also don't see why she needs to be levitated there...she clearly does not like it."