Fireworks

[briar.reeyne.michaels]

BRIAR MICHAELS.
but at times i wondered
if i had not come a long way
to find that what i had been searching for
was something i left behind

[/i][/size]

Oh, crap. It really was raining.

Not that Briar minded much--she was a tough little fourteen-year-old. Besides, she was on a mission-- and God help anyone who was planning on stopping her. The rain, despite being downright FREEZING and a sheet of water that instantly drenched her to the bone, did not seem to faze the girl as she stared upwards into the starry sky. Her black and yellow robes felt a million pounds heavier-- making any movement difficult and slow, but they did their job of keeping her warm... for the most part.

After all, it was December 31st. 11:53 PM if her water-crusted watch was still working properly-- a.k.a-- a few minutes before the new year.

Back at home, they would always have fireworks upon the first strike of midnight. Whether the idea was foreign or unheard of, Briar was horrified at the blank stares of student and staff alike. Surely, surely, they were planning on having fireworks at Hogwarts this year? On the New Year? Well, they hadn't had any last year-- but the years before that, Briar had been (in chronological order),

a.) With her parents for Winter Break
b.) With a fever here, at Hogwarts-- what a great omen, no?
c.) Back home again with family for Winter Break
d.) Standing outside in the pouring down rain, determined to create a something that resembled at least one firework.

And d.) was her mission. Truly, she really should be in bed back in her dorm-- or at one of the parties set up by various 6th and 7th years-- but sleep was boring, and wild parties were never really her thing. Both of those things could wait when there were fireworks to be made.

Briar had experimented, of course. She wasn't walking to catch hypothermia with no idea what she was doing in the first place. Despite it being cold and miserable enough to (why wasn't it snowing? Surely, it was cold enough to be snowing, not raining) set the weaker willed to tears-- the Hufflepuff was strangely elated as she trodded out from the entrance of the school and onto the hilly grounds she sought. There was no conscious ringing in the back of the girl's mind that she might be caught, and there were several reasons for that. One, Briar was just generally that cocky. Two, who but her would be so bloody mad as to go running around at midnight, in the middle of winter, in the rain, in hopes of creating fireworks for the world (who was mostly asleep anyways) to see?

Well, Briar preferred the word 'inspired' rather than mad. Mad was a strong word, no?

Finally, the girl reached her destination. It was a location just inside the large expanse of walls that commanded Hogwarts, and somewhere where the Ravenclaws could spy the colors from their tower, the Gryfindoors from their barred windows, the Slytherines from their looking-glasses, and even the Hufflepuffs from their solitary windows just above ground. Stopping upon the very top of the small hill; watching the Hogwarts castle wink at her fro the distance of, oh, a thousand yards or so?-- Briar grinned. She stared up at the starry sky, having to squint as the harsh rain pounded down upon her bright eyes, hood falling off her mane of blond curls and soaking what little was dry. Do you think the girl minded, though, as she raised her oak wand to the heavens? Her watch glimmered in the light of her 'lumos', and she waited patiently, teeth chattering behind her growing grin, for the new year to arrive.

12:00.

One wand pointed straight up, never wavering side shivers and excitement.

"Alarte Ascendare!--" Came the shout, and bright eyes gleaming, Briar's voice fell to a whisper, "--lumos maxiumos... colores."

[amara.rose.fentress]

Amara Rose Fentress, alone on New Years Eve. Who'd have thought it? Well, not most who knew her, that was for sure. She was always up for a good party, or a family gathering with the people she loved most. This year was different, though. This year, it was her turn to stay at the castle and watch over the students left behind, the ones that had nowhere to go on winter break. Or maybe just the ones who preferred the quiet. Either way, she had managed to get off last year, and spend it with her family, but this year she had had no such luck.

She knew a few of the older students would be throwing 'secret' parties in their dorms and common rooms, in fact, she had even aided a few of her own Slytherin students in setting up their new year decorations and sneaking in some non-alcoholic punch for them. Yes, she was definitely a good Head of House to have. But she felt like crashing their actual parties would be a step too far. Hell, she was a brilliant Head of House. So it was now, with five minutes to go before midnight, that she found herself trawling the halls of the castle, thinking how sad it was that the school didn't arrange something for all of the students to attend. They celebrated everything else, why not New Year? Just because there weren't many students left at the castle. That wasn't a good enough reason.

Finding herself at the great oak front doors of the school, she pushed one open a crack, the scent of the heavy rain hitting her nostrils and causing a truly happy grin to spread across her porcelain face. Amara loved the rain. There was no better cure for the soul, in her opinion. It did wonders for her, anyway, and without really thinking about it, she slipped through the open door, pulling it shut behind her and stepping down the front steps into the open, where she immediately was soaked through to the bone. Her thick black robes would only keep her warm for so long, but she didn't care, as her black hair matted to her face, she just carried on grinning.

A small flash in the distance caught her eye, and she stepped further out onto the grounds. A student? There was definitely a student running across the grass out there, seemingly headed right for the walls of the castle limits, not too far from the gates. Frowning through the sheets of raindrops, she set out, her duty as a teacher and rule setter about the castle being more important than her own fun. She couldn't very well just leave someone roaming around in the dark on their own. Especially in such freezing weather, she'd never forgive herself of anything happened to whomever it was. Trailing the student closely, she paused behind a tree as the teen finally stopped and dropped her hood, revealing blonde curls and a pretty face. Briar Michaels.

Amara's grey-blue eyes narrowed as she wondered what a sweet Hufflepuff girl like Briar was doing out there. Then it hit her. The girl raised her wand in the air, glancing down at her watch, and began muttering incantations. Amara watched with fascination as small fireworks began to shoot out of the end of Briar's wand. Was that why she was out here in the rain? To set off New Year fireworks? With a happy, somewhat relieved laugh, Amara, began to sneak around behind the girl, pausing maybe two feet away and raising her own wand over Briar's head.

"Ignis Explendesco!" The most vibrant, seemingly uncontrollable sparkling light began to fly skyward from Amara's own wand at her words, sailing so high, and so loudly, that it would be hard for anyone in the castle to miss them. She kept a steady stream going as she leaned forward to speak to Briar. "Happy New Year, Miss Michaels," her words were kind and warm, encouraging, and even approving. The last thing she wanted was for Briar to think she'd been sprung by a professor and run off in horror. In Amara's eyes, this kind of thing went off the record. People tended to forget that "Professor Fentress" was a human being, too. She needed to laugh and smile just as much as any rebellious Hufflepuff did.

[angelica.mae.westling]

Asleep? Not a chance. It was new year's eve and Angelica was desperate to find a fun way to celebrate the transition to the new year. None of her friends seemed to be on the same track though, and despite it being only a few minutes left her dorm mates were already passed out in their beds. Most of them because they were tired and just didn't care about it being a new year, others for getting drunk for the first time. She'd enthusiastically tried to wake them up of course (resulting in a few bruises from kicking legs and thrusting fists).

Not a chance. She refused to spend new year's eve like this. Alone, to the sound of snoring fourteen year olds. Pitying herself. Therefore, she had just come out of the bathroom with a big bucket of cold water (if that didn't wake Cecilia up then she didn't know what) when she spotted a shadow from the window. It was raining and the tower was pretty far up, but she was sure that was a boy or a girl in the soft light of the stars and the moon.

Not having the time to stop and think for even a second, Angelica put down her bucket on the closest platform she could find (which just happened to be the foot of Cecilia's bed), thrust her feet into a pair of wellies and threw herself down the stairs. Taking on her thick wool coat while running desperately through the hallways, Angelica checked her watch. There was still a few minutes left. She could make it. It might seem silly, or even mad, to run after a figure out into the night just because it was new year's eve, but if someone was out there, defying the rain, it had to be because they were up to something. Right? Something had to be going on. You didn't just go outside at 11.55 p.m. on a rainy new years eve because you wanted a stroll in the nice weather. You just didn't.

Panting, she reached the entrance doors and pushed them open, showing a dark empty courtyard foggy with rain. Angelica took a few careful steps outside, pulling her collar up as much as possible in cover for the rain. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she finally found the figure (or didn't there seem to be two of them now?) and with her feet throwing up large pieces of mud in cascades around her, she once again fell into a run, her nightgown flapping in the air behind her.

She got there just in time to watch the fireworks blast out of the two wands and couldn't help but gasp. She remembered her dad filling the sky with lights and sounds when she was a kid. As if the whole world was on fire. Her mother was always very keen on organizing soirees every new years eve for her old Slytherin class mates. They all spent the whole day cleaning, setting the table, cooking, decorating, yelling at the workers who couldn't get the ice sculpture perfect enough... (Ok, that last one had just been her mum.) All to keep up their reputation and to allow Monica Westling to impress her friends.

From the time she started Hogwarts though, she'd spent all of her Christmas at the castle. Christmas dinner was simply better non-diet and non-healthy. But that also meant she'd spent New Years eve here too and for some reason it was hardly celebrated. Of course, she was glad to get out of all the work, but she'd really really really missed the fireworks. Angelica took a few steps forward, now standing next to the girl (she was in one of her classes. Briar, wasn't it?) and the Slytherin head of house, nose up and eyes glistening with excitement. Yes, it had turned out to be a great new year's eve after all.

[briar.reeyne.michaels]

BRIAR MICHAELS.
but at times i wondered
if i had not come a long way
to find that what i had been searching for
was something i left behind

[/i][/size]

After all those hours of slaving over library books--after days of experimenting outside in the courtyard and receiving singed hands for her trouble--after weeks of pestering hinting to her charms teacher--the forth-year's experiments with fireworks had never resulted in a crack and an explosion as loud and magical as what just went off right over her head.

CRACK!

Briar jumped, mentally, and very hastily scratching out the words in her brain from moments ago how no one could be as mad inspired as to come out in the chilling rain. Startled, but not really scared to any more extent-- Briar slowly turned around, lowering her arm and receding her now slightly singed (her own fault, the girl having forgotten to place a fire-proofing spell on herself) back into her drenched robes. Behind her, who would've guessed?-- was none other than the Slytherine Head of House, who was no doubt the very adept sorcerer who had just cast some sort of spell directly above her head.

The girl turned, tilting her head up slightly (having to squint as the rain pounded upon her face) and her eyes widened (quickly shutting them as several well-fallen fat raindrops plopped into her eyes). That was... the very faint trail of smoke... very high. Briar might've been momentarily jealous if it had been a student to cast the fireworks-- after all, she had spent quite a bit of her homework free time working to create something suitable-- but a teacher? A teacher was acceptable, and Briar burst into a grin.

Then the universal 'hey-this-a-teacher-and-you-are-way-out-past-curfew-as-well-as-outside-the-castle-- in-the-rain-to-be-even-more-specific-- you-should-probably-scram' was drowned out by the rather friendly voice of the professor wishing her a happy New Years. Instantly, any thoughts about running (Briar wouldn't have anyways, she had already been spotted) vanished, and the fourth-year piped a cheerful, "Happy New Year to you, too!" back.

Briar was then just about to make some remark about being terribly sorry for going out so late, and promise to never do it again--and somehow fit in there a question about what spell the professor had used to create the fireworks-- when something (who-know's-what) made Briar glance slightly to the left. It was a casual glance, probably prompted by a nervousness the girl usually got around Hogwarts Staff-- but it was enough of a head turner for Briar to pause as a shadow flickered into the side of her view.

Wait-- what? A shadow?

Briar's attention was imminently diverted, and she peered out from under water-brimmed eyelashes in the general direction of what she had seen.