[Dec-MP] La vie qui va (Lijsbeth)

Honoré thought that Christmas time at Beauxbatons was always special. The school staff made an effort to make it look just perfectly magnificent during the festive season. The Ombrelune would not openly say so, of course, he was a teenage boy, after all. How could he say that he found the ice sculptures to be pretty? People would think Merlin knows what of him. However, he hoped that his little sister would finally see the splendours of Beauxbatons and appreciate them. He felt that nothing would easily convince Netta that the school wasn’t an awful place, though. It seemed like the little Papillonlisse had made up her mind and was unlikely to change it.

As he went to grab some breakfast this morning Honoré saw to his great astonishment that the exquisite sculptures were gone and the floors of Beauxbatons had turned into an ice skating rink overnight. On his way from the Ombrelune tower to the Grand Hall he passed a few members of staff as well as students who were helping to deal with the situation.

Honoré himself wasn’t opposed to helping either. However, he needed at least a croissant or two first. His stomach was already growling and he could hardly work like that. Breakfast ought to come first. As he half walked and half slid down the corridor he spotted Lijsbeth not too far in front of him.

“Lijsbeth!” he called out but wasn’t quite loud enough to make himself be heard. They were not alone, after all. Students of all years were talking, laughing, squealing, shouting. “Excuse me,” he told a few lower classmen as he tried to get through their group. He hurried down the corridor, trying to follow his friend. For a moment he thought that he had lost her but then he spotted her again.

Forgetting that the ground was frozen, the boy made an attempt to run to finally close the gap between them but as he wanted to come to a halt again the ice had other plans for him. He was gliding quite quickly towards the Bellefeuille. “Attention!” he shouted but unless Lijsbeth would show an extraordinary reflex and jump to the side within a split second he’d bump into her - hopefully without making her fall.

@Lijsbeth Westbroek

The previous evening Lijsbeth and her housemates had paused after the evening meal to admire the ice sculptures in the entrance of Beauxbatons palace, discussing which ones were their favourite and whether the school had done an even better job than the previous year. She'd gone upstairs feeling quite festive and actually looking forward to Christmas. It was only a few more days before they would finish for the year and she would be going home along with the rest of the family to see her older brother and sister again.

Lijsbeth had stayed awake later than she really should have done, finishing the last chapter of a book on unicorn healing. Reading under the covers still made her feel as if she was eight years old and doing something illicit, though as long as she didn't disturb her dormmates of course nobody was going to say anything. Of course though, it meant that she had slept a little later and only woken up when she heard movement around her. Bother - now she would have to wash her hair this evening, and she always hated going to bed with freshly-washed hair. Somehow it seemed to take the opportunit to tangle itself overnight, and she was almost out of her favourite detangling potion.

Although - if she ate breakfast quickly, she might still have time to run up and wash it before class. Yes, that was sensible. It took her only a few minutes to be ready and run down the stairs, though as soon as she got to the bottom she stopped dead in surprise.

The sculptures were gone! Not only gone, but they appeared to have melted and refrozen on the floor, turning the school - or at least the entrance hall - into a huge ice rink. Already a few smaller kids were running and skidding on the floor, mostly first and second years who semmed to think that sliding into the wall with a crash was the best fun in the world.

Lijsbeth would have liked to ignore them, but as a sixth year she felt as though she needed to help and set a good example. Although she was wearing her indoor shoes with annoyingly had a small heel, she stepped down onto the ice and took a careful step. Alright, as long as she moved slowly this was fine. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of another, holding out her hand to a third year who almost skidded into her and making sure the girl was upright before continuing. The kids behind her continued to play and shriek and Lijsbeth imagined she could hear someone calling her name.

She didn't feel confident turning around though, not now she'd covered about half the distance to the Grand Hall. Still her plan of getting into the hall, eating a quick breakfast and going back to the dorm before lessons began seemed reasonable. She was getting closer now, but a shout of "Attention!" did exactly that and this time she did turn, though far too slowly. Someone was skidding right towards her, and she seemed to reach in slow motion.

Lijsbeth was certain they were going to collide a split second before it happened, even before she realised who it was. In that time, she held out her hands to grasp onto her friend and his momentum carried them both forward before somehow they twisted and she realised they were going to fall and that too seemed to happen in slow motion. A moment later they were lying on the ice, and her hip and ankle were hurting even though she had inexplicably started to giggle. "Fancy bumping into you!" she said, but a moment later her face grew serious as she asked "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

Honoré could feel how his cheeks turned bright red as he slid towards Lijsbeth with no chance to stop and avoid a collision. He felt stupid and awkward and he just hoped that they wouldn’t fall, that Lijsbeth wouldn’t hurt herself.

Things happened quite quickly then. Just before they collided, Lijsbeth already held out her hands and Honoré did the same, grabbing Lijsbeth’s shoulders slightly faster than he had intended. They were now skidding further together. It was a little like a snowslide, first it had only been him, now they were two and Honoré almost feared that they’d collect more students before they’d come to a halt. Some students were screeching and made an effort to get out of the way.

Then Honoré felt that they were losing their balance. He wanted to somehow avoid that they’d both fall. Hoped that somehow, miraculously, Lijsbeth would be able to stay on her feet but an instant later they were both on the icy ground. The boy looked at his friend, hoping that she was alright when she started to giggle.

“Yeah,” Honoré said, feeling quite embarrassed. Without really being aware of it, the boy’s left hand reached for his right wrist. He had tried to stifle his fall by holding out his hand and it did not feel quite right. However, he was not going to admit that. If it didn’t get better he’d secretly go to the hospital wing later. For now he opted for a small smile that was soon replaced by a questioning look. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Shall I bring you to the hospital wing?”

Realising that he had not really answered her question, the boy blushed some more. “I’m fine, thanks,” he offered. He made a first rushed attempt to get back to his feet but immediately landed on his behind again. He grinned sheepishly as he tried again. This time he was successful. As he stood safely on both feet, he held out his right hand for her to take so he could help her up, too.

"I'm fine" Lijsbeth said, before stopping to wonder whether that was actually true. Cold though, but that was hardly surprising given that she was half-sitting, half-sprawling on the newly-frozen ice. Already one or two more sure-footed students were stopping to watch, whether to check they were okay or in case anything else amusing happened she wasn't sure.

"No...definitely no hospital wing!" she added as Honoré tried and failed to get to his feet. That would just be embarrassing and besides, she had three of her favourite classes today that she definitely didn't want to miss. She twisted around until she was sitting up on her knees, and her ankle definitely hurt, but not so much that she thought she'd done serious damage. At least this put her in a more convenient position as the Ombrelune offered his hands, which she took with only the slightest of blushes, carefully putting her weight on her good ankle before climbing upright.

"Ow!" she hissed quietly, and immediately wished she hadn't, because now Honoré was going to worry. "I'm fine, really" she said again "I think my ankle's just bruised...I landed on it. It'll be fine in a minute." That wasn't entirely true, she suspected it was going to be sore until she put some bruise balm on it, but that wasn't anything she could do standing in the entrance hall. Still...she looked at the admittedly short distance they still had to go and wasn't confident about her ability to get there safelt across the ice.

"I don't suppose you'd like to be a gentleman and help me into the hall?" she asked a little coyly, not quite managing to meet Honoré's eyes as she spoke. Just in case he laughed and said no...

Honoré looked at Lijsbeth, feeling a little unsure if she was really okay even though she said so. It was his fault if she had got hurt and somehow that made him feel more than just a little uncomfortable. Served him right that his wrist didn’t feel quite right. He should not have tried to run towards his friend on the icy ground. It was reckless and irresponsible and, to be honest, quite unlike him. The Ombrelune wondered what had got into him and then remembered how his heart had bounced at the sight of Lijsbeth and how he had only been able to think of getting to her as quickly as possible.

“Are you sure?” he asked. He wanted to go on speaking but Lijsbeth reached for his hands and he bit his lips as she pulled herself up as his wrist hurt more due to the strain. As soon as she stood and thus didn’t pull on his hands anymore, Honoré smiled again. He’d be fine, he was sure. However, Lijsbeth’s reaction when she put some weight onto her foot didn’t seem as promising.

“Are you sure?” he repeated. “I wouldn’t mind bringing you to the hospital wing,” he muttered. It was all his fault, anyway. He’d do anything to make up for it.

When Lijsbeth asked for his help to get into the hall in a rather sheepish way without even looking into his eyes, Honoré nodded without even thinking about it for a second.

“Sure, I’ll help you wherever you want to go Mademoiselle,” he said, bowing a little and wondering how he should best assist her.

“So…” he began, “how can I help? What should I do?” He really wasn’t sure and he just hoped whatever she’d suggest would not reveal his own little injury that he felt would go away by itself given an hour or two.

Lijsbeth nodded. Now that she'd actually stood up and ascertained that she could bear weight on the injured ankle she felt more confident. Besides, it definitely didn't hurt enough to be broken, if it was sprained she would struggle to put any weight on it, and while it was painful, it didn't feel serious. She realised she was running through her first aid lessons and the thought made her smile again. "I'm sure. Honestly, I'd rather just have some breakfast and besides, there doesn't seem to be ice inside the Hall" she added hopefully as she looked in that direction.

Embarrassingly, her stomach chose that moment to make a small sound, and she blushed, hoping that Honoré hadn't noticed. Certainly she wasn't going to say anything in case he hadn't heard...but if he had, would he think she was rude..? Oh, don't be so silly, she told herself! He's seen you fall off a waterski and eat your entire body weight in ice-cream in four days, it's not... "I guess falling down like that makes one hungry" she added, before she could stop herself.

At least he was happy to help her into the hall, though it seemed they were both feeling a little awkward about how to go about that. While they were friends, neither was the sort of person to randomly hug someone without a reason. Lijsbeth looked down at her feet and nibbld her lip for the briefest of pauses. "Could you just...give me your arm to lean on a little bit?" she asked "just until we get to the table..." She hoped Honoré would want to sit with her for breakfast, but she didn't quite have the nerve to suggest that, which was funny given that they'd been lying on the floor together moments earlier.

When she put her hand on his arm, her movements were tentative at first, as if afraid she was overstepping an unspoken boundary, but once she'd taken a step and neither of them had fallen over again Lijsbeth relaxed. Only as they reached the entrance to the hall did the strangeness of the situation occur to her.

"What do you think happened here?" she asked, half to herself "If the statues melted, it must have got hot in the night...but then it froze again..?"

While Honoré was still worried that Lijsbeth had got injured in a way that required medical attention, he was glad to see her smile, state that she was okay and say that she’d rather have some breakfast. Admittedly, the boy was eager to eat as well. He was hungry and breakfast at Beauxbatons was always nice. Even if his little sister complained about the food at school, the Ombrelune appreciated the multitude of different things that were offered to them.

He wasn’t sure what the noise was that he had heard until Lijsbeth said something that seemed to explain it. Well, he didn’t think that a growling stomach was anything to be ashamed of. It happened to everybody occasionally and it wasn’t like farting or burping. He, therefore, smiled and nodded understandingly.

“I’m hungry, too,” he admitted quietly. “I can still bring you to the hospital wing after breakfast if you feel the need for it,” he offered and looked towards the entrance of the hall. It would really be a shame to miss the breakfast. The scent of fresh baked goods, hot chocolate and tea was already streaming out of the hall and into the corridor and the boy felt that his stomach would soon make a sound, too.

It felt a little awkward to help Lijsbeth into the hall. Honoré tried to follow his friend’s instructions and did his best to help her. Although he did not look into any other students’ faces, he could feel that some people watched them but maybe he was just imagining things. This was not really that interesting, was it? Although he tried to tell himself that there was nothing to feel embarrassed about, the Ombrelune felt how his cheeks were burning.

They made it to the entrance of the hall and Honoré felt relieved. Soon they’d reach a table, Lijsbeth would sit down and possible watchers would lose interest. As the girl asked him what he thought had happened, Honoré glanced at her and made a thoughtful face.

“I really have no idea,” he admitted. “Maybe some students melted the statues magically and the low general temperature made the floor freeze over again?” He shrugged his shoulder and led Lijsbeth to the nearest empty table.

“Shall we sit down here?” he asked, hoping she’d accept but happy to help her to a different place if she didn’t like it.

He was still convinced she needed the hospital wing, which was kind of embarrassing. Lijsbeth really didn't want to go there - but now the initial shock was over she realised she knew enough basic spells to fix bruises and even a twisted ankle. There were potions that were more reliable and did a better job, but she was sure she could fix anything simple, at least temporarily so she would be able to walk into the hospital wing herself rather than being assisted. Once they'd had something to eat, she'd have a look if it still didn't feel any better.

Honoré wasn't the only one who had noticed they were being watched. Lijsbeth's embarrassment increased, though she was irritated as well. What was so interesting about leaning on someon's arm whilst walking in to breakfast? Surely it was obvious that he was helping her. Any couple planning a romantic assignation would pick somewhere a bit more romantic than the dining hall. Besides, if anyone was really so concerned they could come over and ask if she was okay. Lijsbeth decided to ignore them entirely, glad that she was still early enough that the room wasn't particularly full yet.

"Yeah, I guess that's possible...I wonder who would risk being out of their dormitory in the middle of the night, though?" she mused thoughtfully. Some of the younger kids sometimes liked to dare each other to sneak out, but they were also the least likely to be able to melt a magically-created ice statue. "I hope the professors can fix it easily. I liked those statues. They were beautiful" she said, half to herself.

They were at the closest table now though, and she was happy to just sit down "This is perfect" she said as steaming mugs of hot chocolate materialised as they took their seats. Already her ankle felt better now she'd taken her weight off it, and she couldn't help but glance around as other students slipped and slid their way into the hall. Lijsbeth belatedly realised that the student who'd stared weren't doing it because she and Honoré looked particularly interesting, but because they too had struggled on the ice and were curious to see how others were coping.

"Well, we made it safely to breakfast" she said with a smile, looking across to the larger tables where various food items waited enticingly. Not wanting Honoré to have to help her again she pulled her wand out and summoned a plateful of croissants, enough for them to share. "I thought it would be good practise" she said before her friend could comment, nibbling her lip. Hopefully Honoré was in the mood for freshly-baked croissants as well.

“Good point,” Honoré said and his expression became thoughtful. Who would leave their dormitory in the middle of the night to melt ice statues? It made no sense. The statues had been pretty and this vandalism seemed entirely pointless. It was beyond Honoré why anyone would want to destroy these intricate pieces of art and risk getting into a fair bit of trouble for that.

“Yeah, me too. I think they were really pretty.” He paused for a few seconds, wondering how complicated it was to create these statues. He made a mental note to check this with their professor for Creative Arts and Literature when he next saw her.

He was glad that they were sitting down now. While he, unlike Lijsbeth, had not hurt his ankle, he was relieved when his friend didn’t lean on his arm anymore. While he was certain that it was really nothing, his wrist didn’t feel ideal after his fall and he subconsciously twisted it to check how painful it really was after they sat down.

While the boy was hungry, he looked around for a while just like Lijsbeth next to him did. It seemed like they hadn’t been the only ones falling on the slippery ground. He could see a first or second year who was crying and pointing at her hip on which she had apparently fallen. Immediately he wondered if Netta would make it here safely. He really didn’t want to imagine her whining if she fell and injured herself.

“Yes, we did,” Honoré responded, smiling back at his friend, grateful that she interrupted his train of thought. He watched as Lijsbeth summoned croissants. “So you like them, too,” he stated the obvious and took one of the still warm croissants. While he had noticed that Lijsbeth had used her wand to get the croissants instead of standing up and reaching for them, he felt there was no need to comment. Not now, anyway.

Now they were seated Lijsbeth couldn't help but watch people as they walked into the hall - or more accurately, slipped and staggered. Her lips twitched as a pair of tall seventh year boys clung to each other for support, but immediately behind them came others who were struggling even more. "Poor kid..." she murmured as she saw the direction Honoré was looking in.

For a moment Lijsbeth considered going over there and seeing if she could help, but putting weight back on her ankle so soon didn't feel like something she could deal with just then. At least the small girl had friends she was sitting with, no doubt they could help her to the hospital wing if she needed it. With that thought, she turned back to breakfast.

"Absolutely. I could eat them all day...well, with ice-cream to follow, of course" she added with a grin. She broke off a small piece and dipped it into her hot chocolate, savouring the sweet, creamy taste and wishing they really could sit there all day. Then she shook her head. "I'm such an idiot sometimes" she said softly "I know how to fix all kinds of injuries and here I am sitting wondering who will check my ankle. It's fine, really" she added quickly "I mean, it's hurting, but I know it's not broken and..." she flexed it slightly and grimaced "it doesn't feel badly sprained either" The Bellefeuille just felt a little nervous about actually healing a real injury, no matter how minor.

"Breakfast first though" she said, putting off the thing that was making her nervous until a little later. "Then...ugh, metaphysique, I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to take that class" she added with a grimace "though at least it's only one floor up! How about you? Where have you got to get to next?"

“Yeah,” Honoré agreed, “looks like she really hurt herself. It’ll be alright, though. I’m sure if she goes to the hospital wing they’ll take good care of her.” He definitely didn’t feel like approaching the younger kid and offering help. The girl’s friends were with her, they could handle this.

“Croissants and ice cream,” the Ombrelune said, smirking a little. “You’ve got good taste for sure,” he teased and gently nudged her shoulder.

She spoke of her ankle again and a concerned expression spread across Honoré’s face. “You didn’t want to go to the hospital wing,” he muttered, almost offended. He had offered to help her get there but his friend didn’t want to go. “You could cast a cooling charm on it, maybe,” he suggested more kindly.

He helped himself to some food and juice as Lijsbeth spoke of her plans for after the breakfast and he checked his watch almost immediately. He had promised his brother to look over an essay before his first class and realised that there was little time left for that anymore.

He quickly swallowed his last bite and looked at Lijsbeth apologetically. “I promised my brother to help him with school work before the first class. He has to hand in an essay and wants me to check it first.” The boy sighed and downed the last bit of juice. “I have to run, I’m afraid. I’ll see you later?”

Quickly he got to his feet, grabbed his bag and made his way out of the grand hall.

[out]

Lijsbeth blushed a little, smiling. She felt like she'd be happy to fall over on the ice every morning if it meant she could have a breakfast like this. The thought made her cheeks flush still warmer and she glanced down, glad that they weren't sitting opposite each other where it would be even more obvious that she was fond of her friend - perhaps more fond than she cared to admit even to herself.

"I know, I just thought..." she'd felt embarrassed and hadn't wanted Honoré to feel bad about crashing into her, but she certainly wasn't going to say that, even if a chill seemed to suddenly run through her. She should have waited, not mentioned her ankle at all until they were ready to leave, then he wouldn't be sounding offended. he probably thought she didn't want his help, when really nothing could have been further from the truth. She couldn't say that, though.

"Yeah, good idea. I'll try that in a bit" she said, forcing a smile and returning to her breakfast. Suddenly the croissants didn't seem quite so tempting, but she had a busy morning ahead so ate anyway, thinking that perhaps they could walk back out together.

Honoré had other plans, though. Or had he suddenly made up an excuse because Lijsbeth had annoyed him by her refusal to go to the hospital wing? She didn't dare ask, but her face fell as he stood and made his apologies. But then - "Yes! See you later!" she said, beaming delightedly and watching his retreating back as he first strode across the hall and then took more careful, tentative steps once he encountered the icy surface.

It was okay. They were still friends and they were going to meet up later. Finishing her own breakfast and draining the last of her hot chocolate, Lijsbeth turned her attention to her ankle, casting the cooling charm and then a more complex one to support it slightly when she walked. As she looked again across the hall, she realised the little girl who had been crying was a member of her own house, though she couldn't recall the kid's name. Carefully she got to her feet, testing her weight and feeling to her relief that it felt fine to walk on now. Picking up her bag she walked over to the younger students.

"Are you okay?" she asked the small girl "I can cast a cooling charm if you like..?"

[Lijsbeth out]