Late Night Crystal Reading ((Wynd))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

19 October 2000

Research has brought me no closer to finding an answer to help Bri. I’ve now returned to divination. If I can’t find what I’m looking for through the future then my sister’s life is truly lost. I can’t fail her…not like I failed my father…if I had done this when I promised…if I had kept researching then maybe I would have found the answer. As it is I gave up, figured that my one promise to my father could wait…I was wrong and because of that I could have very well cost my sister her life. I have to do this…I have to find a cure. I will report my findings as always.


Josephine closed the journal with a snap as she placed it aside, bending a little over the large crystal ball that sat tidy in it’s circular dais that kept it from rolling away. She was seated, cross-legged on the ground in front of the fireplace, the soft firelight giving her the added mysticism that she felt comfortable in, though in all honesty she felt more at home in Trelawney’s tower than she did in the Slytherin Common Room, but the hour was late enough that she would not be disturbed.

Long black hair fell across the crystal, firelight bouncing off the insides of the misty object. Josephine quickly pulled the long thick strands up, digits working quickly to flip it into a loose bun before sticking a chop-stick through the middle of it keeping it confined save for a chunk of hair that slipped out and curled around her face, accenting her jaw line. She didn’t bother trying to fix it however as she pulled up the sleeves of her light blue sweater top, her baggy black pants billowing out a bit as she adjusted herself on the floor so that she was sitting at a more comfortable angle to meditate over the crystal ball.

The soft flickering of the fire, cast shadow and flame across the surface of the fortune telling globe…the mist shifting and rolling within the depths of it’s confines as Josephine leaned forward a bit, blue orbs gazing intently into the ball, a hand sliding over the globe for a quick moment to throw it into dark shadows from the fire as she tried to make out the small image that seemed to begin in the very center of the ball, the blurred vision moved and she squinted trying to get a better look.

Suddenly the crank of the hidden door to the corridor beyond opened, Josephine jumped, a squeak or half scream she should say escaped her pinked lips as she stood immediately, the crystal ball darkening back to it’s dull color as she whirled around, the chop-stick flicking loose and her tumbling down over her shoulders and down her back as she stared wide blue eyes watching the shadows, the fire light reaching only so far into the darkness. “Hello?”

[Wynd Lehane]

At the beginning of the year each of the Slytherin prefects had drawn lots to pick what day they would have duty. Tonight was Wynd's night. Cruising the corridors late at night was rather boring but it was expected of him. He didn't want his prefect badge to be taken away for neglect. For the most, it wasn't bad. Walking up and down the corridors with just the light of one's wand, one discovers many things. Just last week, Wynd found a secret passage from the third floor to the seventh that he would have never found during the day with other students in the corridor. He was walking along when all of a sudden one of the paintings laughed. Not one to be insulted (especially by a painting) Wynd turned to look at the guilty. He found a soft breeze coming from the edge of the painting and found that he could push it aside.

The worst part of patrol was not having anyone to talk to. When he would patrol with Ruby, she and he could talk about the future. But she wasn't with him tonight. Occasionally, Wynd would meet a professor in the hallways on their way to bed or sneaking down to the kitchens for a midnight snack. The worst was when he would run into the other House's prefects. A Gryffindor prefect would usually not even acknowledge him. That suited Wynd just fine. A Ravenclaw prefect would nod their acknowledgment and sometimes try to strike up a conversation. Hufflepuff's prefects were the worst. They would always want to start a conversation and then suggest that they could patrol the corridors together. No matter what Wynd said they would walk with him. Due to this whenever he saw a Hufflepuff prefect on the other end of a corridor he would go the other way.

Finally it was time to go bed. It was late which meant all the students had already gone to bed. Except maybe Dylan who was known to wander in the middle of the night. The fire would almost be out. Wynd found his way to the dungeons and then to the secret door leading to the common room. "Nox," he told his wand. Entering the common room, Wynd heard a squeak or a scream he really could not tell which. Immediately, he was on the defensive. Slytherins had many enemies. It was no secret that most of the school disliked them. In the upcoming match against Gryffindor, most, if not all, the school would be cheering for Gryffindor and against Slytherin. Maybe the half-scream originated from a Ravenclaw hoping to play a practical joke on Slytherins and Wynd had just foiled his plans. His wand in hand he slowly made his way toward the fire where he saw the silhouette of someone. “Hello?” the voice came from the figure. Wynd still wasn't sure who it was as the light made shadow fall on their face. He stayed hidden (he hoped) in the shadows. "Who are you? What are you doing up so late? Mind you, I have no problem hexing you from where I stand if I don't like your answers."