Human Alchemy

[andrewwoodbridge]

Prompt / Desire

There is an item rumored to be a cure for his condition. It is a combination of potion and spell that can render him whole, one person with one age, like everyone else. The one who use it will be cleansed of their past hexes and curses, fully restored to their health. It has been Andrew’s obsession since he was 17. Intellectually, he understands that most likely has never existed in the first place, but that hasn’t stopped him looking. Finding it means never having to spend another night in agony, or take time off from illness due to a particularly bad Change.

That pales to what he wants emotionally: forgiveness. The incident that caused his Change had caused the disappearance --possible murder -- of Cyrus Dash wood. It had been agreed that Dashwood had gone and acted of his own accord, but that doesn’t stop the guilt from haunting Andrew. The older he gets, the more he wants to be forgiven for his role in the tragedy. He will never admit this and deny it if ever confronted about it

[andrewwoodbridge]

Hospital Wing / The Mysterious Box / Outcome

Woodbridge stood guard in the Hospital Wing where the former Christina Eames had been placed. It served two purposes: one - he kept the more curious students away, two - it kept him out of the way of most of the staff. There was a mutual distrust between him and the other professors. For some it was his Durmstrang heritage, or that he had suddenly been home schooled rather than “properly“ graduating. A select few choose to focus on his bloodline as one of the true purebloods left. But for most, it was his condition. Any man who could change his shape and not control it had a way of unnerving people.

He glanced at the still form of the young witch. His compassion was not limited to his older self. He could allow himself to feel pity, compassion. To prove it, he did so now. What he refused to allow was what followed such things.

He had been fifteen at the time. What had happened could not entirely be called a death. That didn’t mean anything though. People didn’t just reappear to disrupt your life. That was the nonsense reserved for fiction. What had occurred all that time before were merely events, happenings he now had to live with for the rest of his life. He held steady to that. Anything else was madness.

The door to Wing opened and he eyed the newcomers warily. He flexed his wrist, feeling the stiff wood of his wand against his arm. He didn’t trust most of the staff either. The sort of magic that could kill someone, even someone so young, had just been left there in the open. It had been left on the Staff table. Therefore each person was a suspect and a potential victim.

[christina-eames]

The Scavenger Hunt [Christina, Isabelle, Sebastian, Kai]

[isabellemontgomery-deactivated2]

'Christina?' Izzie called frantically. 'Wait up!'

She chased after the girl as she walked through an archway, finding herself in an empty corridor. ‘Christina?’ She turned, and the other girl who had run into Christina had disappeared too. She went back through the archway, and began to run down the hall.

She passed empty portrait after empty portrait. There were no more archways, and every door she tried was locked. She spun back around to go back the way she came, to find the others, but the lights further down the corridor were slowly going out. Darkness crept towards her.

Izzie forced herself to breathe as she stared into the black. This was supposed to happen, right? The task was designed to foster teamwork… but she’d lost her team! Maybe there would have been a clue on the piece of parchment Christina had.

Hadn’t their instructions said something about darkness? No, about light… at the end of the tunnel or something. Either way, the darkness didn’t look inviting, and it was reaching down the hallway, getting closer. 

Izzie turned and sprinted down the hall. Glancing over her shoulder, she swore. The distance between her and the darkness didn’t seem to be getting any wider; if anything, the darkness was rushing towards her. Then she saw a door that stood a little ajar. She slipped in and slammed the door behind her, sliding to the floor in exhaustion.

[andrewwoodbridge]

He had been nearby, studying the star charts against their numerical orders. Every professor was menat to be nearby, in case the first years needed help. Other professors and older students passed him by with a respectful distance. He was not to meant to be disturbed in his more serious pursuits, and though he was young, everything from the crispness of his outfit to the hardness of his stare suggested he was working on something very serious. It also suggested worked his magic with glares instead of wands.

“Guys? GUYS!?”

That was not the sound of kids in a haunted house. He knew that sound. He dropped the charts and raced towards it. He stopped when faced with an anomaly at this time of the school year: an empty corridor.

Hate this castle, he thought. Durmstrang didn’t confound its residents like this.

“Christina?”

Same side of the corridor. Different angle. Okay. That was something he could deal with. Simple mathematics. Ignore the visuals. Plant your feet. Concentrate on the acoustics. He heard the second voice yell in fright, running then slam a door. Something collapsed. He couldn’t think of that just now. It would distract. Calculating the points; Voice 1, Voice 2. Two other sounds, in the corridor. Two other students in the group. Should be three, but one had been given four. Four students. Took their vectors in relation to him. Quick spell to fix their locations.

He checked again that his feet were firmly planted then sent a series of vines out along the air to the other points. He felt them land by their targets. “Hold Tight!” He shouted , his voice a booming echo in the emptiness. And pulled.

There was a series of sucking popping noises and four first years appear at the feet of a professor who looked ready to expel them for wasting his time.

“Get up. “ he ordered, recalling the vines into his wand. “ Hurry.” He lead the way out of the corridor, and turned down another empty. He scowled wordlessly at one of the empty portraits, opened the second door they came across and lead the group out into an area, that was well-aired and populated by pastorals. In one a herd of sheep looked blankly back at the humans. He closed the door behind them and marked it with a large red X an a series of other of limits spells. Then he turned back to the students.

If he were older, he would have wanted to know that they were fine, mentally and physically. If he were older he would have reassured them that they were safe, that Hogwarts never harmed anyone. He would calmed them down and asked each one individually to explain what had happened.

Today he was younger, and his younger self hated wasting time. They were obviously fine physically.

“What happened?” he demanded

[andrewwoodbridge]

Heads Office

[the-head-office]

“I know this is sudden, but considering the events of the recent years it seemed the best. ” He set his quill down  and folded his hands in from of him patiently. “ Is there anything we need to accommodate for this term that we haven’t previously?” He titled his head downward slightly, which made it look like he was looking over invisible-rimmed glasses.

[andrewwoodbridge]

Andrew tugged his cuffs again.  “No sir. Everything is in order. ”  He hoped. He had spent the majority of the past few months being looked over, making adjustments to the potions and charms that served as medication. Right now his worst effect was an occasional migraine.

[andrewwoodbridge]

Heads Office

[the-head-office]

andrewwoodbridge:

Andrew hesitated. He was partway through his change. Even after all these years, he till wasn’t sure which Dawson deemed better. “Much more stable, yes sir.”

“Good.” Dawson’s attention had gone back to his notes. There was only the sound of wizards’ breathing, quill scribbling, Billy’s movements and plants growing.

“Sir” , he said at last “ if this is about Ravenoak, I can assure you th—” He fell silent as the Headmaster held up a hand.

Dawson waved away the comment. That matter had been settled without to much fuss, but he understood  Woodbridge’s  anxiety on the matter. The poor man had trouble when it came to dealing with social matters, especially having to deal with such a unique condition. “ I merely wished to discuss the plans for this term on an individual basis.”

[andrewwoodbridge]

Now it was Andrew’s turn to look confused. “ Sir?” Individual meetings were not unusual, but they tended to occur after Christmas break, not at the beginning of the new term. He glanced at the niffler cage. Billy showed no signs of distress, but that didn’t mean anything. Andrew  tugged at the ends of his cuffs. 

[andrewwoodbridge]

Heads Office

[the-head-office]

Thaddeus looked up from the notes he had been making. “Ah, yes Woodbridge. ” he said, not setting the quill down. The beginning of terms meant the beginning of new correspondence, all of which had very strict due dates. It made one miss Hunter‘s Pass. “You’re looking better today. Feeling better, are you?” 

[andrewwoodbridge]

Andrew hesitated. He was partway through his change. Even after all these years, he till wasn’t sure which Dawson deemed better. “Much more stable, yes sir.”

“Good.” Dawson’s attention had gone back to his notes. There was only the sound of wizards’ breathing, quill scribbling, Billy’s movements and plants growing.

“Sir” , he said at last “ if this is about Ravenoak, I can assure you th--” He fell silent as the Headmaster held up a hand.

[andrewwoodbridge]

Heads Office

Andrew Woodbridge eased the door open and stepped inside. Even after so many years, he still felt like a child upon entering the Headmaster’s Office. And this hadn’t even been his school. Beneath the crawling vines, behind the scent ( he wouldn’t dare say stench ) of flowers was the dark wood high backed chairs and imperious looking portraits of the past, imposing even in their sleep. He took comfort in the rattling, snuffling sounds of Billy the niffler in his cage at the corner by the window, fixing his teeth on the bars.

“You, wished to see me Headmaster?” he asked anyway.